Vanessa Bryant ‘Hoped To Grow Old’ With Kobe Like 'The Notebook'

Vanessa Bryant delivered a tear-jerking eulogy for her late husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna at their memorial service at the Staples Center on Monday.

In the eulogy, she discussed many aspects of Kobe’s character that she will miss and explained that his love for her was deep.

“Kobe loved me more than I could ever express or put into words,” she said. “He would do anything for me. I have no idea how I deserved a man that loved and wanted me more than Kobe.”

As reported by People, Vanessa said that she and Kobe expected to spend their entire lives together and frequently compared their relationship to the movie “The Notebook.” Vanessa revealed he even once gifted her the actual sky-blue dress that Rachel McAdams wore in the 2004 film.

“When I asked him why he chose the blue dress [from the movie], he said it was because it’s the scene when Allie comes back to Noah,” Vanessa said. “We had hoped to grow old together like [in] the movie. We really had an amazing love story.”

In “The Notebook,” McAdams’s character Allie returns to her first love Noah (played by Ryan Gosling) years after they have broken up. She wears the blue dress in the scene, and by the time the rain has started pouring, she realizes her mistake at ever leaving her old flame. The two then marry, grow old together, and die lying side by side.

Vanessa compared her and Kobe’s love to Allie and Noah’s in the film, saying they were “two perfectly imperfect people” who “loved each other with our whole beings.”

“The Notebook” costume designer Karyn Wagner didn’t know the Bryant’s were in possession of the dress. Once she heard the news she “started bawling,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“I’m so honored that I was able to contribute in some small way to the history of this amazing man,” Wagner said.

Kobe and Gianna died on Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, while being transported to a basketball game. They were 41 and 13, respectively.