Vanessa Bryant spoke out about her husband's death for the first time on Wednesday to thank the public for showing love to the family “during this horrific time.” “Thank you for all the prayers. We definitely need them,” the wife of the late former NBA star Kobe Bryant wrote in an Instagram post. “We are completely devastated by the sudden loss of my adoring husband, Kobe—the amazing father of our children; and my beautiful, sweet Gianna... There aren’t enough words to describe our pain right now.” She wrote that she was taking comfort in knowing that her husband and daughter “were so deeply loved” with the outpouring of support, and said she was pushing forward everyday because she knew they were “shining” on her and her other daughters “to light the way.” “We were so incredibly blessed to have them in our lives. I wish they were here with us forever,” Bryant wrote. “They were our beautiful blessings taken from us too soon.”

She also said her family was “devastated” for the other families who lost loved ones in the Sunday helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter, and seven others. Bryant encouraged others to donate to the MambaOnThree Fund to help support the other families affected by the crash, and the MambaSportsFoundation to further Kobe Bryant and Gianna's legacy.