Vanessa Bryant has had to practice some extreme measures on social media as she continues to grieve for her husband Kobe and daughter Gianna.
She took to Instagram this weekend to share with her followers that it’s difficult to be on social media and see photo after photo on her feed of her late husband and daughter.
In a statement posted to her Instagram Story, Vanessa wrote, “Thx so much for all the [love]. @nataliabryant and I have unfortunately had to block fan pages because it’s been really hard to go online and constantly see pics of our beloved Gigi and Kobe under every single square of our explore pages.”
She explained that blocking the fan accounts on the social media platform has “helped change the algorithm.”
“We [love] you all but please understand that we had to do this for our own healing not because we don’t appreciate your [love],” she concluded. “Xo.”
As reported by The Sauce, Kobe and Gianna died in a helicopter crash in California in January. Seven others died in the crash, as well: John Altobelli, a baseball coach at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa; his wife, Keri Altobelli; their daughter, Alyssa Altobelli; Christina Mauser, an assistant Mamba Sports Academy basketball coach; Payton Chester, a player on the team; her mother, Sarah Chester; and Ara Zobayan, the pilot.
Vanessa’s eldest daughter, Natalia Bryant, also took to her own Instagram account to echo her mother’s message.
“Thank you so much for all the love and support,” the 17-year-old wrote on her Instagram Story. “Many of you may have noticed the recent switch to a private account. My mom and I have had to unfortunately block fan pages because they keep reposting our pics.”
Natalia explained that by doing so, it makes it “10x harder to deal with our loss.”
In addition to Vanessa and Natalia, Kobe and Gianna are survived by 3-year-old Bianka Bella Bryant and 11-month-old Capri Kobe Bryant.
