NBA Star Kobe Byrant's Wife Files For Divorce

Kobe Bryant is heading from the basketball courts to the legal courts after his wife filed for divorce on Friday. In the papers filed at the Superior Court of California in the city of Orange, Vanessa Bryant cited irreconcilable differences for the split. 

The mother of the Los Angeles Lakers star's two children, Natalia, 8, and Gianna, 5, is being represented by high profile lawyer, Laura Wasser, whose past clients include Maria Shriver and Halle Berry.

A statement issued by the couple through a publicist requested privacy “during this difficult time.”

"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," it read.
"We ask that in the interest of our young children and in light of the upcoming holiday season the public respect our privacy during this most difficult time."

Vanessa infamously stood by her NBA champ husband during their 10-year marriage despite a high-profile scandal in which he was accused of sexually assaulting a worker at a Colorado hotel.

Bryant, 33, admitted to having sexual relations with 19-year old hotel employee Katelyn Faber but denied assault.

The assault case was dropped by prosecutors after Faber refused to testify in the trial. A separate civil lawsuit was eventually settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.