Kobe Bryant Divorce: Counselor Says 'Prayer' Needed, Not Public Scrutiny
After the announcement that Vanessa Bryant filed for divorce due to Kobe’s alleged continuous infidelity, speculation surfaced surrounding her motivation for splitting from the five-time championship winning NBA player after ten years.
"Shocking or saw it coming?" People magazine asked followers on Twitter.
Vanessa’s former step-father, Stephen Laine, said he was not shocked to hear about the divorce. TMZ reported that Laine accused his former step-daughter of being money hungry and using Bryant to plot an elaborate financial scheme.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
“In California it's considered a long-term marriage and then she gets paid for life or until she remarries ... just like her mother is doing to me," Lain said. "Her mother taught her well to wait for the 10-year mark."
However, basketball fans have watched a rollercoaster marriage unfold before their eyes over the past 10 years. The pair’s speedy courtship and marriage that took place against his family’s consent, was marred in media reports when a 19-year-old Colorado lodge & spa employee accused Bryant of sexual assault.
Kobe admitted to consensual relations with the woman, but denied any sexual assault. Vanessa stood by his claims publicly.
"I know that my husband has made a mistake - the mistake of adultery," Vanessa said in a previous statement. "He and I will have to deal with that within our marriage, and we will do so."
However, a source told RadarOnline.com that Bryant’s soon-to-be ex-wife wanted to make things work. Yet, the NBA star was having trouble staying faithfull to her.
the
"Vanessa wanted to stay together for the children. Vanessa stood by Kobe during his darkest hour, and she believed him when he said there would be no more women,” the source said. "Vanessa began to get suspicious again about 16 months ago about Kobe cheating on her, he knew that if he wasn't faithful, she would leave him. Vanessa had no other choice."
Dr. Bob Burbee, a Christian Counselor for the National Institue on Marriage, told The Christian Post he doesn’t agree with divorce as a method of resolution, but the Bryants do not need peoples' judgement.
“I and my colleagues at National Institute of Marriage are very careful to not give persons specific direction about ending a marriage through divorce,” Burbee said. “Should someone elect to end their marriage by seeking divorce we prefer to not sit in judgment but find ways to attend to both spouses for the purpose of healing and learning.”
After Bryant publicly admitting to cheating on his wife to avoid sexual assault charges in 2003, some may question Vanessa’s decision to stay with the NBA baller. However, Burbee said Vanessa’s response mimicked that of a Christian spouse.
“It seems to me foundational to any Christian response when wronged is balancing the tension between asserting righteousness and justice while at the same time forgiving offenses and being open to reconciliation when repentance occurs,” he said.
Regardless of Vanessa’s decision and her motivation behind it, Burbee said the family will need support.
“Kobe and Vanessa Bryant need our prayers,” the counselor told CP. “The toll on
them personally and on their family will never be adequately represented in
the news media.”
