Kobe Bryant blames himself for their tragic loss

A little over two years after getting married, Kobe Bryant's wife's hopes and dreams of a perfect union were shattered when her husband was accused of sexually assaulting a Colorado hotel employee in 2003. Kobe Bryant appeared in a now-infamous televised news conference with a stoic — yet visibly defeated — Vanessa Bryant by his side. "You're my backbone. You're a blessing. You're a piece of my heart. You're the air I breathe," Kobe told Vanessa as tears rolled down his face (via People). "And you're the strongest person I know, and I'm so sorry for having to put you through this and having to put our family through this."

In the Showtime documentary Kobe Bryant's Muse (via New York Daily News), Kobe revealed that Vanessa had been pregnant but suffered a miscarriage in early 2005. Kobe blamed himself for the loss, stating that Vanessa was dealing with too much stress in connection to the sexual assault allegations. "We should be building our family," he said. "But because of my mistake, because of this tough year, we lost a baby."