MAG Fab: Vanessa Bryant Opens Up About Kobe & Drama With Khloe Kardashian In ‘NY Mag’…
Days after we spotted Vanessa Bryant out and about in London with La La Vazquez, the wife of NBA superstar Kobe Bryant graces the pages of NY Mag alongside, Amar’e Stoudemire’s fiance Alexis Welch.
For the feature dubbed ‘The Belles of B-Ball’, Vanessa opens up about being married to one of the most famous players in the world, Kobe Braynt, the reason why she’s chosen to stay out of the spotlight, the rumored beef with Khloe Kardashian and much more.
Amar’e Stoudemire’s soon-to-be-wifey Alexis Welch also dishes on the role she plays in Amar’e life!
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On marrying Kobe: “I certainly would not want to be married to somebody that can’t win championships. If you’re sacrificing time away from my family and myself for the benefit of winning championships, then winning a championship should happen every single year.
He’d come to school to get me in a black Mercedes, and flood the school with roses. My curfew was 10 p.m., and he got done with practice at 2 p.m., so that’s how we’d see each other. [...] I was 18 and a half [when I was married], and I remember requesting a dress without flowery lace or tulle. Vera Wang designed what she called a glamazon-mermaid gown for me, with fabric-covered buttons down the back.” These days, the dress is stored in her cedar closet, in the exact same condition. “I love it,” she says. “It’s perfect.”
On the status of her marriage: “Um..We’re working on things.”
On the media’s misconception of her life: “I think people imagine that I sit at home with all the time in the world to do my hair and makeup, but that’s certainly not the case,” she says. “I’m up at 6:30 in the morning with my kids. I’m taking them wherever they need to go.” She doesn’t use a nanny—“That’s the way I was raised”—and says that she has never missed a sports game or practice of her daughters, 6 and 9.”
On why she’s reserved: “I thought things would go away, if you don’t feed into the b.s., and no one would think about you. Now I realize I do have to talk about certain things. Still, I don’t like the limelight. There’s a lot of good you can do with fame, like creating awareness for a foundation, but a lot of negativity comes along with it.”
On the endless rumors she doesn’t like Khloe K: “Everything is false. Khloé was at my 29th birthday. I don’t get involved in the drama. I’ve been with Kobe since I was 17, so I’ve seen plenty of players, and plenty of wives, come and go. It wouldn’t benefit me whatsoever to have an issue with any of them, whether they were a girlfriend, or a wife, a person-of-a-month, or … you know. And I think that’s why the Lakers as an organization give me the access that I have, that other wives don’t have.” [She talks about the tunnel on the way to the locker room that she stands in to give Kobe a kiss after games, the one that cameras always pan to.] “If you notice, I am the only one allowed in that tunnel. I don’t like standing outside and giving him a kiss in front of all the cameras. So I stand in there to get away from them. But then the cameras end up following. And if the girls are there, sometimes, that’s their kiss good night for Daddy, and when he comes home, they’re asleep.”
On her favorite handbag: I’m not really a handbag person anymore. I’ve collected Birkin bags, Chanel 2.55 jumbo flap bags, and the Marc Jacobs Stephen Sprouse collection for Louis Vuitton since I was a teenager. But now, as they say, everyone and their mom is buying a Birkin or a regular size 2.55 bag in black, taupe, or beige. I’ve been sticking to a magenta suede Proenza Schouler bag.”
Amare Stoudemire’s fiance Alexis Welch had this to say about being with an NBA player:
“We all want to encourage our men and support them. This is a partnership. We’re going to get everything balanced, and that will be reflected on the court. I’m taking care of the household, making sure the kids are straight, the dog has his food, making sure Amar’e can be a dad at the end of the day, do something that has nothing to do with basketball.”
Kimberly Chandler (wife of Tyson) is also featured in the article.
