Vanessa Bryant Instagram/ Warner Brothers
Kobe Bryant gave his wife, Vanessa, the original blue dress from The Notebook, Vanessa revealed during his eulogy at the public memorial on February 24. But he didn’t just stop at gifting her with the blue dress that Rachel McAdams famously wore in the penultimate scene — he also gave her the actual notebook used in the film, too. What’s more, a 2013 Instagram post from Vanessa reveals he gave her one more prop from the iconic film: the shoes Allie wore with her dress.
During her eulogy, Vanessa said that Kobe gave her the dress and the notebook because the film props symbolized their own love story. He said he gave her the film props because they represented, specifically, when Allie decided to come back to Noah.
Vanessa explained, “He was thoughtful, even while working hard. He gifted me the actual Notebook and the blue dress in The Notebook movie. When I asked him why, he said it was the scene where Allie comes back to Noah. We had hoped to grow old together like the movie. We really had an amazing love.”
As it turns out, this isn’t the first time Vanessa has shared this story. She posted about it on Instagram once, in 2013, writing, “#ThrowbackThursday One of my favorite Valentine’s day gifts from my husband was the blue dress, shoes and THE notebook from the Notebook Movie he gave me years ago. (The notebook is a prop but it still has sentimental value). Happy Valentine’s Day! #tbt #Valentinesday #LoveStory #TheNotebook #Love ❤”
Here’s what you need to know:
Twitter Reacts to Kobe’s Outlandishly Romantic Gift to Wife Vanessa
Immediately after Vanessa reminded the world of Kobe’s obscenely romantic gift, Twitter users reacted to what many felt was the most romantic gesture one could possibly make.
You can see the dress Kobe gifted Vanessa in the clip below, if you haven’t seen the film. Allie, the main character of The Notebook, wears the dress during the famous fight scene with her love interest, Noah, in which he argues that they were meant for each other.
And you can see the part in the film, where Allie decides to return to Noah and spend the rest of her life with him, here:
As people on Twitter immediately noticed, the comment seemed to be an allusion to when Vanessa and Kobe filed for divorce, before eventually deciding to call off the divorce.
NBA write Tim Reynolds tweeted, “Kobe just ruined every husband’s attempt at everything ever: He gave Vanessa the notebook FROM THE NOTEBOOK. Pretty sure that one won’t be topped.”
Another user tweeted, “That sh*t Vanessa just said about kobe gifting her the notebook from the movie, and the dress rachel wore got me f*cked up man”
There’s no public information as to how Kobe acquired the famous film props, and what he paid, if anything, for them. But it was a fitting anecdote for a man whose legacy has been defined not just by his basketball career, but about his life and passion for being a family man.