ORANGE, Calif. -- Kobe
Bryant's wife, who stood by her husband when he was charged with sexual assault
in 2003, filed for divorce on Friday from the Los Angeles Lakers star, citing
irreconcilable differences after a decade of marriage.
Vanessa Bryant signed
the papers on Dec. 1. Kobe Bryant signed his response on Dec. 7 and it was
filed Friday, according to the documents.
"The Bryants have
resolved all issues incident to their divorce privately with the assistance of
counsel and a judgment dissolving their marital status will be entered in
2012," according to a statement from a representative for the couple.
In the filing, Vanessa
Bryant asked for joint legal and physical custody of the couple's two
daughters, Natalia, 8, and Gianna, 5. Kobe Bryant asked for the same in his
response. Vanessa Bryant also requested spousal support.
The Bryants "ask
that in the interest of our young children and in light of the upcoming holiday
season the public respect our privacy during this difficult time,"
according to the statement.
Bryant met his future
wife in 1999 on a music video shoot when Vanessa Laine was 18 years old. Six
months later, she and the then-21-year-old Bryant became engaged. They married
on April 18, 2001.
The Bryants have been
through trying times together.
Vanessa Bryant appeared
at a news conference with her husband when he was charged with sexually
assaulting a 19-year-old woman who worked at the exclusive Lodge & Spa at
Cordillera near Vail, Colo., in 2003. She held his hand and stroked it tenderly
as the NBA star admitted he was guilty of adultery – but nothing else. Earlier
she had issued her own statement to the media, vowing to stand by her husband.
"I know that my
husband has made a mistake – the mistake of adultery," she said in the
statement at the time. "He and I will have to deal with that within our
marriage, and we will do so. He is not a criminal."
A year later,
prosecutors dropped the criminal charge against Kobe Bryant because the woman
did not want to go ahead with a trial.
Last year, Kobe and Vanessa Bryant settled
litigation with a former maid who accused the NBA star's wife of harassment.
The Bryants countersued Maria Jimenez for violating a confidentiality agreement
by talking to reporters about the family.
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