Vanessa Bryant has seemingly shut down online speculation regarding an unfounded pregnancy.
Vanessa, 43, took to her Instagram Stories on Sunday, June 1, to share a captioned meme of Rihanna bobbing about water with a snorkel mask atop her forehead, carrying a drink and flipping her middle finger. The caption read, “Me protecting my peace, not pregnant & having fun all summer.”
The Story arrived amid online chatter that suggested the widow of NBA legend Kobe Bryant was expecting her fifth child.
Us Weekly has reached out to a representative for Vanessa for comment.
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Additional Instagram Stories on Sunday evening also seemingly shone a light on Vanessa’s current mindset, with a later post sharing candid text from a self development and motivation Instagram account. “The only way to impress me, is by being a good person,” the post read. “I don’t care what you have, what you wear, where you live, or what you drive. I just have deep respect for people with pure hearts and good intentions.”
A third Story featured a second photo of Rihanna, 37, as part of another online meme, accompanied by the caption, “I’m not mean, I’m just not the one.”
Vanessa, who was married to Kobe from 2001 until the athlete’s passing in 2020, is mother to four children: Natalia, 22, Bianka, 8, Capri, 5, and Gianna, who also passed away in 2020.
The businesswoman and philanthropist offered fans a look into how close her family has remained over time, sharing a video from a winter vacation with Natalia, Bianka and Capri at the end of December 2024. In the footage, the girls were seen hitting the slopes for some skiing and posing in front of Christmas trees as they enjoyed their winter wonderland.
Vanessa also shared photos that captured the clan’s trip to Disneyland last year.
On April 6, Gianna, a rising star in women’s basketball, was remembered by the sporting community after Connecticut’s UConn Huskies celebrated winning the women’s NCAA basketball championship. Vanessa shared an Instagram note about the team’s success that mentioned her late daughter at the time.
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“Gigi would’ve loved being there with you,” the mother wrote via her Instagram Stories. “When you think you can’t, UConn ~ Gianna Bryant 
.” Vanessa also tagged UConn head coach, Geno Auriemma, and congratulated him on the title win, which marked the school’s 12th national title and first since 2016.
Kobe and Gianna were both killed in a January 2020 helicopter crash that also took the lives of seven other people. Kobe was 41 years old and Gianna was 13.
