Where is Vanessa Bryant's mother Sofia Laine now? Kobe's widow denies evicting her out of her home
Kobe Bryant's widow Vanessa has denied that she kicked her mother Sofia Laine out of her home after the latter gave an explosive interview where she wept that her daughter had evicted her and stripped her of some of her belongings. Vanessa attacked her mother for having the 'audacity' to make these claims in a TV interview while she is grieving the loss of her husband Kobe and their daughter Gianna. Bryant blasted Laine for "shedding tears for a car and a house that were not in her name" while she continues to mourn for her husband and 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who both died in a helicopter crash back in January.
"My husband and daughter passed away unexpectedly, and yet my mother had the audacity to do a television interview speaking negatively of me while shedding tears for a car and a house that were not in her name," Bryant said in a statement to the TV show.
"She has removed all her diamond jewellery, emptied the apartment I provided, and put away the furniture to make it look like she doesn't have my support. My husband and I have supported her financially for the past 20 years, and continue to do so, in addition to her monthly alimony," said Bryant.
She continued: "Contrary to previous reports, she has not been physically present or emotionally supportive of my daughters and me after my husband and daughter passed away. Now I see what is most important to my mother and it's more than painful. I hope that everything that is coming out about our personal relationship ends here."
Earlier, Laine accused Vanessa of kicking her out of the house following the death of the NBA superstar. As per reports, Laine alleged in an interview airing on Univision on September 21, that apart from asking her to leave the house, her daughter also demanded that the immediate return of a car as well. “She told me, ‘I need you to get out of this house’. She also told me that she wanted her car and she wants it now,” an emotional Sofia told interviewer Dave Valadez on the Spanish language show ‘El Gorda y La Flaca’, as reported by Daily Mail. According to the report, it is not clear from the preview released this weekend what might be the reason behind the alleged rift between the mother and daughter. Sofia was seen in a photograph with Vanessa in a Thanksgiving family photo that was posted on Kobe's Instagram account last November, as per the report. The family has multiple properties on the Newport Coast and Sofia used to live in one until it was sold in 2013.
After the basketball legend's death, a source told Us Weekly that Sofia was helping Vanessa and her grandchildren -- Natalia, 17, Bianka, 3, and Capri, 7 months. “[Vanessa] is incredibly close to her mom and her mom has been her rock throughout the past few weeks,” the insider had informed. “Her mom is always with her and the girls and she's been keeping Vanessa strong and she's the weight of her support system.” Kobe, 41, and his daughter Gianna, 13, had died in a helicopter crash in January in Calabasas, California.
Sofia was reportedly very close to Kobe and was spotted waiting outside his locker room in 2015 after he played his last game. As per Daily Mail, their relationship might have been even more special because Kobe had supposedly admitted that he didn't get along with his own parents. However, it is still not clear how Vanessa and her mother's relationship was at Kobe's memorial in February. Beyonce was there comforting the widow at the LA Lakers' home of the Staples Center in Los Angeles during the service, as per the report.
After these allegations, it is not known where Sofia might be living. Sofia also has another daughter named Sophie. After 13 years of marriage, Sofia divorced Vanessa's stepfather in 2003. The report states that she had claimed that he cheated, though it was denied by the husband. In 2011, when there were reports that Vanessa and Kobe almost split over infidelity issues, the former's estranged stepfather – whose last name she took as a child – compared her to her mother. “Her mother taught her well to wait for the 10-year mark,” Stephen Laine said, as per Daily Mail. “'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. I have to pay her mom $1,800 every month and clearly, they don't need it,” alleged Stephen, as per the report.
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