Yesterday, Vanessa Bryant turned 38 years old - in what was her first birthday since losing her husband Kobe and daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash back in January.
Sharing a heartfelt post with her 14.1 million Instagram followers, Vanessa revealed that she had found one more letter from her late-husband, addressed to 'The Love of my Life'.
In the post, Vanessa included a photograph of her hand holding the envelope, as she wrote in the caption:
"Yesterday I found an envelope labeled To: The Love of my Life. From, Tu Papi.
"I waited to open one more letter on my birthday. It gave me something to look forward to today.
"The irony is that Kobe had a photo of me drawn with an Angel holding me up by an artist on the cover. Missing the Love of my Life and my sweet little Mamacita- my fellow Taurus. Grateful to wake up to my 3 sweet girls today.
"Wish we were all together."
Vanessa concluded the post with the hashtag "#MyBirthdayWish".
In under 24 hours, the touching post has amassed 2.4 million 'Likes' and 72,000+ comments.
One of the commenters includes Khloé Kardashian, who wrote: "Happy birthday V! This is beautiful! You deserve this so much! I pray you know how loved you are today and everyday! This is a sign he’s with you. I’m praying for you always! I love you."
Actress Jennifer Garner also sent her best wishes to Vanessa, writing: "Happy birthday, Vanessa, and all of the love in the world to you and yours."
Former Destiny's Child singer Michelle Williams also commented, writing: "Sending you love today!! Happy Birthday Vanessa!"
Vanessa explained that in a heart-breaking twist, the image on the front of the card Kobe had chosen shows Vanessa being held by an angel.
In a follow-up post, Vanessa shared a picture of her holding the couple's youngest daughter, Capri, explaining that she looks just like father Kobe, and that she is wearing a dress bought for her by sister Gianna (also known as Gigi).
She wrote alongside the sweet snap: "Capri looks just her daddy (in Gigi’s outfit)".
The final post Vanessa shared shows her posing with her three daughters - Natalia (17), Bianka (three), and Capri (10 months) - as she thanked them for "ordering these flowers and piñatas for mama".
Basketball legend Kobe and his daughter Gianna lost their lives in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California on January 26 along with seven other people; John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah and Payton Chester, Christina Mauser and Ara Zobayan.
