The Truth About Vanessa Bryant And Kobe Bryant's Marriage

Kobe and Vanessa Bryant married on April 18, 2001, at St. Edward Roman Catholic Church in Dana Point, California, according to E!. While it was a happy day for the couple no doubt, the wedding caused major family friction. Allegedly, Kobe and Vanessa never signed a prenuptial agreement. Vanessa's stepfather, Stephen Laine, told the Los Angeles Times: "She just came home one day and said something to the effect that Kobe didn't want a prenup — that he loved her too much."

This was all too much for Kobe's family, especially his father, Joe Bryant, who was also an NBA player. And while the Bryant family was concerned about the financial aspect of the marriage, they also worried about Vanessa as a match. Their racial differences were a problem for the family, as was her upbringing. Compared to the very prestigious rearing that Kobe had, Vanessa didn't seem quite up to snuff. "She'd grown up in a Garden Grove tract house," the Los Angeles Times pointed out, compared to Kobe's childhood in Italy and "the affluent suburbs of Philadelphia."

Nevertheless, they went ahead and married without a single Bryant family member in attendance. In fact, none of his fellow Los Angeles Lakers came to the wedding, either. It was an extremely small, private event. To boot, Kobe's agent, Arn Tellem, didn't even go, as E! reported, and the assumption was that his agent was also concerned about the lack of a prenup.

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