Superstar basketball player Kobe Bryant and his wife Vanessa Bryant were seen kissing on Valentine's Day in a tunnel in Staples Center, the Los Angeles, California, sports arena where Kobe was playing a game. Photographers captured the romantic moment, and the pictures were widely circulated on the Internet. Celebrity watchers were surprised because Vanessa had filed for divorce a couple of months earlier.

Many observers speculate that the couple will get back together. One possibility is that they will call off the divorce, which will not be final until possibly the middle of June. Another possibility is that they will obtain the divorce for financial reasons but continue their relationship.

Sources say that Kobe and Vanessa do not have a prenuptial agreement. If that's true, then under California law, Vanessa will receive half of the community property, which is worth an estimated $150 million. A family-law attorney not involved with the case told the L.A. Times that getting a "financial divorce" can sometimes improve a relationship because it creates "more of a balance of power."

The couple married in April 2001. They have two daughters. They met when Vanessa was a backup dancer on a music video and was still in high school.

TMZ reported that Vanessa initiated the divorce because she was fed up with Kobe's infidelities, and that Kobe desperately wanted her back. However, this is all sheer speculation because California is a no-fault divorce state, and in the divorce papers, Vanessa was not required to give a reason for seeking the divorce other than the default reason of "irreconcilable differences."

Divorce is a unique process in part because of the possibilities for solutions that it provides to a couple.

Source: Los Angeles Times, "Kobe Bryant divorce: Couple divides assets despite kiss photo," Feb. 20, 2012