Is Vanessa Bryant Secretly Engaged? All Eyes Are On Her Rumored New Man

Social media is rife with rumors that Vanessa Bryant is secretly engaged. In the five years since her late husband and former Lakers star Kobe Bryant died in a fiery, violent helicopter crash, there's been an increasing interest in Vanessa's love life (or lack thereof). Although the mom-of-four has given fans zero indication she's decided to pursue romantic relationships in the years since Kobe's helicopter crash, netizens continue to theorize about her romantic status. Vanessa even became the victim of an undue pregnancy rumor. Taking to her Instagram Stories, Vanessa denied the rumor by posting, "Me protecting my peace, not pregnant & having fun all summer" (via Marca). 

Following her denial, users online quickly found another rumor to take its place. Amid a public appearance that Vanessa made with Rob Pelinka, president of basketball operations and general manager for the Lakers, at the Mamba League Invitational — a Nike-sponsored high school basketball event that honors Kobe — fans scrambled to connect the two romantically. "Vanessa definitely sleeping around with Pelinka," one X user posted. Meanwhile, a second user wrote, "She's definitely messing around with Rob." Despite the speculation, there's been zero evidence that Vanessa's relationship with Pelinka, who also had a close relationship with Kobe, is anything but platonic.

Vanessa Bryant's decision to pursue love again is honestly her business alone, especially after Bryant faced a remarkable tragedy when losing not only her husband, Kobe Bryant, but their daughter, Gianna Bryant, as well. However, that hasn't stopped people from getting into heated online debates about whether or not Vanessa dating again is a positive thing or disrespectful to her late husband.

On Reddit, for example, one user argued that Vanessa's love life should not be up for discussion. "IMO people need to know less about one another and worry about themselves and things that affect their lives," they wrote. "It's no one else's business whether she's dating anyone else or pregnant. I wish her happiness and health for her and family." A second user came to Vanessa's defense, writing, "It's been 5 years, it's not like this was only months to a year after the accident. She's allowed to move on. Anyone should be able to do this, just because she's possibly pregnant and has a new man, doesn't mean she won't forever love Kobe and Gigi, I'm sure she still grieves everyday." 

Meanwhile, a third user pointed out the double standard between men and woman. "Nah you're right I saw some guys posting about her not being loyal and went WTF it's been 5 years..." they wrote. "They do not give this much hate to guys who's wife die and he moves on like d**n you just can not win in this world."