ForKobe Bryant, dedication extends beyond the basketball court and into his married life.
On a new episode of Showtime Basketball’sAll the Smoke, the five-timeNBAchamp, 41, opened up about the secret to his lasting marriage to wifeVanessa, 37, who he wed in 2001. His key? “Commitment and [the] competitiveness of ‘We’re going to succeed.’ ”
“We’ve seen couples that have been like 85 years old and you look and you’re like, ‘Oh man, such an old, sweet couple,’ and I’d go talk to them because I wanna know … ,” Bryant said. “One time a guy goes, ‘Yeah it’s great, but she just kicked me out of the bed last night, I was sleeping on the couch last two nights.’ ”
Bryant laughed, “And I’m like, ‘It doesn’t change.’ ”
The former basketball star — and recentOscar winner— said the ups and downs of a relationship will never subside, yet that solidarity of working through therough patchestogether is one of the best parts of a strong relationship.
“That’s all the beauty of it: having the persistence and determination to work through things — very, very tough things — and we’ve been able to do that,” he said.
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In June, the couple welcomed daughterCapri Kobe Bryant. The new dad of four shared the news on Instagram at the time.
Capri joined the couple’s three older daughters:Bianka Bella, 3,Gianna Maria-Onore, 13, andNatalia Diamante, 16.
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Speaking withExtrain 2017, the retired athlete admitted that his wife was hoping to have a boy one day. “I hear boys are just walking tornadoes. We’ll see. I thinkVanessa wants a boy more than I do,” he joked.
He added that while his teammates tease him for being outnumbered in his own home, he loves having daughters: “My friends say, ‘It takes a real man to make a boy.’ I’m like, ‘Dude, it takes a king to make a princess … get in line!’ “
This might not be the final Bryant child. When hostEllen DeGeneresasked the athlete how many kids he would ideally have, he replied with a grin, “Iwould go for a solid starting five, you just have your own internal basketball team!”
source: people.com
