Kobe Bryant Divorce: Vanessa Bryant Almost Filed for Divorce Four Years Ago

Vanessa Bryant thought of splitting from Kobe Bryant long before handing him divorce papers Friday. She almost filed for divorce from the Los Angeles Lakers MVP four years ago, reports RadarOnline.com.

Vanessa almost threw in the towel four years ago. Kobe has always had a slew of girlfriends, and the cheating was almost blatant, a source close to the couple told RadarOnline.com.

Vanessa had consulted with a divorce attorney, not Laura Wasser, who she has hired to represent her now. Kobe promised Vanessa he would stop cheating, and the two went to marriage counseling. Kobe did seem like a devoted husband, and Vanessa decided not to go through with filing at that time.

The reason behind this decision rooted back to their two daughters, Natalia and Gianna.

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.

The brunette filed for divorce from her NBA husband after over ten years of marriage. However, six years ago she was so disgusted by his blatant infidelity that she came close to ending it then.

She stood by Kobe Bryant when the sordid details of his infamous infidelity emerged via sexual assault charges brought against him by Katelyn Faber, a 19-year-old in 2003. The California native was later seen wearing a $4 million, eight-carat purple diamond ring after the extramarital affair scandal. This was a gift from Kobe for all of the troubles. In Oct. 2003, the Lakers player revealed a new tattoo bearing his wife's name.

The most recent story to hit the rumor mill is that Kobe cheated on Vanessa with Carla DiBello, a friend of Kim Kardashian's and a producer on the Keeping Up with the Kardashians series. DiBello, 27, has reportedly been on very friendly terms with Kobe Bryant for years now.

RadarOnline initially reported the supposed relationship in an unconfirmed report.