The 50-year-old singer has pledged to show those close to her how much she “loves” them as often as possible, as she’s been reminded of how “fragile life is” following the tragic passing of the NBA legend and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, who were among nine people killed when his private helicopter crashed in Calabasas over the weekend.
Jennifer spoke about the news during a press conference in Miami on Thursday (30.01.20), which was held ahead of Sunday’s (02.02.20) Super Bowl, where Jennifer will co-headline the half-time show alongside Shakira.
She said: "Alex [Rodriguez, her fiancé] came to me with tears in his eyes, and he's like, 'You're not going to believe what happened.' He was devastated. He knew Kobe really well. They kind of came up together, entered sports around the same time, and he was just devastated. I knew Kobe and Vanessa more in passing. He had come to my last show in Vegas - the both of them - as a date night and we had a beautiful night that night.
"I think it's affecting everybody so much because it's just reminding us, again, how fragile life is and how we have to appreciate every single moment and how we have to love people while they're here and not wait. And how we don't get the opportunity - it can be taken away from us so easily.”
Jennifer can’t imagine how “awful” the news must have been for Kobe’s wife Vanessa and their three other children - Natalia, 17, Bianka, three, and Capri, seven months - and says she has been “praying” for the family.
The ‘On The Floor’ hitmaker - who is mother to 11-year-old twins Emme and Max - added: "I think of how awful that must be for her right now. I've just been praying that God guides her through every moment because she has three more babies to take care of. And just wishing that the nightmare was over but it's not going to be. That's life and we have to carry on. But at the same time, it affects us and it will affect us forever.
"Hopefully we'll remember this moment. We're trying to spread love and kindness and bring everybody together. This week, this happening, has a sound around the world. We have to love each other, we have to be together and support each other. We can't be so at odds all the time. I think that's a part of our mission and our message too.”
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that the Super Bowl will be honouring Kobe in some way.
