Vanessa Bryant, has filed divorce papers from her superstar husband, according to reports. TMZ is reporting that Vanessa Bryant, Kobe's wife of 10 years, has moved to end their marriage, citing "irreconcilable differences."

Vanessa has requested joint custody of their daughters Natalia Diamante and Gianna Maria-Onore, who are 8 and 5 years old, respectively. Kobe and the then-Vanessa Lane met while he was shooting a video for his hip-hop album, which was never released. Lane was a 17-year-old backup dancer who was still in high school. When Kobe and Vanessa married in 2001, his parents and sisters— who disapproved of the relationship — were not in attendance. In Shaquille O'Neal's recently released memoir, Shaq says that none of Bryant's teammates, with whom he had a thorny relationship, were invited. In 2003, Kobe was charged with raping a 19-year-old hotel employee at a Colorado resort.

Before the case went to trial, Kobe settled out of court with the accuser for an undisclosed sum. It was during the leadup to this trial that Kobe brought Vanessa an 8-carat purple diamond ring worth nearly $4 million.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/16/kobe-bryant-divorce_n_1154904.html