It isn’t the first time she has lied.

The former spouse of this former A+ list athlete was caught in a big lie about her former in-laws and a huge event this past weekend.

It isn’t the first time she has lied.

Vanessa Bryant

Kobe Bryant
Parents: Joe Bryant, Pamela Bryant

The Truth Behind Kobe Bryant’s Troubled Relationship With His Parents

Not much is known about the relationship Kobe shared with his parents before his career took off, but one can only presume that it was relatively content. What caused the rift was Kobe’s decision to get engaged to Vanessa Laine when he was merely 21. Vanessa was a seventeen-year-old high school student at the time and had been trying her luck at music videos.

Kobe’s parents, Pam and Joe, were not pleased with Kobe’s decision to get engaged at such a young age. They wanted him to focus on his career and live his life before settling down with a girl. Another theory as to why Kobe’s parents disapproved of Vanessa is because she wasn’t African-American — she was of Hispanic heritage.

However, Kobe decided to go against his parents’ wishes and get hitched to Vanessa anyway. As a show of their displeasure, Pam, Joe, and Kobe’s two older sisters, Sharia and Shaya, did not attend their wedding. Kobe remained estranged from his family for two whole years until his first child’s birth in 2003.

Kobe said his relationship with his parents was “sh*t”

Though there was a brief reconciliation between Kobe and his parents, the relationship remained strained over the years. Kobe also had a falling-out with his two older sisters as they were too financially dependent on him. Eventually, he had to cut them off and force them to stand on their two feet.

Kobe and his parents’ situation worsened once again in 2013 when Pam and Joe Bryant were caught selling Kobe’s career memorabilia, such as Championship rings and high school uniforms, at an auction house. Kobe filed a lawsuit against both his parents and the auction house. He won the lawsuits and received a public apology from his parents, who said they regretted causing their son “misunderstanding and unintended pain.”

On July 21, 2016, Kobe Bryant took part in a Players’ Tribune feature where he wrote a letter to his younger self. Among many things, he included a caution for his younger self, telling young Kobe not to mix business and family.

The next time I write to you, I may touch on the challenges of mixing blood with business. The most important advice I can give to you is to make sure your parents remain PARENTS and not managers.
Kobe Bryant in Letter To My Younger Self in the Players’ Tribune

In another interview, Kobe downright said that his relationship with his parents was terrible and that he wasn’t pleased with the way his parents decided to sell his memorabilia for some extra money.

Our relationship is sh*t. I say [to them], ‘I’m going to buy you a very nice home, and the response is ‘That’s not good enough’? Then you’re selling my sh*t?
Kobe Bryant to ESPN

It’s unclear whether Joe and Pam could fully reconcile with their son before his untimely death, but there have been a few instances where it looked possible that their son would finally warm up to them. Wayne Slappy, a former coach, and friend of Kobe’s, reported to the Daily Mail that he had witnessed an affectionate hug between Kobe and his father Joe during a basketball camp. He said that the embrace showed that both father and son had missed each other deeply, and they were both smiling ear-to-ear throughout this moment.

Both Pam and Joe were present during Kobe’s memorial. The sisters even released a statement following his death, stating that they enjoyed a very close relationship with his brother until the end of his life.

I just remember seeing [Kobe] hug his dad. You know how they loved each other from how they looked at each other, how they smiled. Everybody’s family has issues, disagreements here and there. The healing comes, but this healing is going to be hard because he’s not here.
Wayne Slappy to the Daily Mail – Source