Vanessa Bryant gave the public an intimate portrait of her husband at Monday's memorial for the California helicopter crash victims.
Thousands of mourners gathered to hear her speak at a sold-out Staples center in Los Angeles. Kobe and Gianna died along with seven others on Jan. 26 in the crash.
Revealing some private moments she shared with her late husband, Vanessa said Kobe once gave her the blue dress from the romantic film "The Notebook." Not a replica but the actual costume dress used in the film.
"He said it was because it was the scene when Allie comes back to Noah," Vanessa said at the memorial. "We had hoped to grow old together like the movie. We really had an amazing love story.”
She also said her husband was a romantic and enjoyed watching such films with her.
Vanessa was introduced by late night host Jimmy Kimmel and received a standing ovation by the crowd. The Celebration of Life began with a performance from Beyonce. Vanessa thanked her husband's fans for coming, saying "the outpouring of love and support that my family has felt from around the world has been incredibly uplifting."
She began her speech with remarks on her "baby girl," Gianna. The audience cheered her on as she fought back tears while telling the story of how Gianna would kiss her goodnight and good morning.
"She was an amazingly sweet and gentle soul," she described. "She knew how much her morning and evening kisses mean to me and she was thoughtful to kiss me every day."
"We loved each other so much," Vanessa Bryant added. "I miss her so much."
Vanessa also spoke of her daughter's intelligence and advocacy, saying she "would have most likely become the best player in the WNBA." In school, Gianna would write papers "defending women" and advocating for equal pay in the NBA and WNBA. "She would have made a huge difference in women's basketball," she said.
(Suzanne Nuyen at TEGNA contributed to this story.)