NBA all-star Kobe Bryant and wife Vanessa Bryant have confirmed the end of these 10-year marriage. Vanessa filed for divorce because of “irreconcilable differences” Friday in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, CA, and in line with the couple’s joint statement the terms with the split have already been reached.
“The Bryants have resolved all issues incident to their divorce privately with the assistance of counsel and a Judgment dissolving their marital status will be entered in 2012,” the statement reads. “We ask that in the interest of our young children and in light of the upcoming holiday season the public respect our privacy during this difficult time.”
In the divorce papers, Vanessa requested joint custody from the couple’s two daughters, 8-year-old Natalia and 5-year-old Giana. According to gossip web site TMZ’s anonymous sources, the couple didn’t possess a pre-nuptial agreement, and this will probably be a costly split for Kobe, who may be worth approximately $150 million or maybe more.
The L . a . Laker and his wife famously survived a cheating scandal in 2003 when Bryant was charged with sexually assaulting a 19-year-old resort employee in Colorado. Kobe maintained the tryst was consensual, and gave a press conference admitting his dalliance. “I sit here in front of you guys, furious at myself, disgusted at myself for making the mistake of adultery,” he stated in July, 2003. “And I love my wife with all my heart.”
The legal case was later dropped following the resort employee decided not to testify, plus a civil case was settled from court.
