"I was super embarrassed to go out in public" - Dirk Nowitzki opens up on his ex-fiancée's arrest amid the 2009 NBA playoffs

Dirk Nowitzki was on a roll in the 2009 NBA playoffs for the Dallas Mavericks. However, he was also facing personal problems at the time. The future Hall of Famer was embarrassed to go out in public after his ex-fiancée was arrested for fraud.

In an interview with Graham Besinger, Nowitzki opened up about his engagement with Cristal Taylor. The Mavericks legend said he was traumatized by the incident and did not want to be seen in public.

​

"I was shocked as everybody, had no idea when it happened," Nowitzki said. "That was a very tough time because I did a great job always keeping my private life private. For me, all of a sudden to have my private life out in the open was something completely different. I was super embarrassed by the whole situation."

"I was super embarrassed to go out in public. I'm a sensitive guy. I take things very hard and I was hard on myself. How could this happen? How did I let this happen?"

---

Who was Dirk Nowitzki's ex-fiancée?

Dirk Nowitzki was previously engaged to a woman named Cristal Taylor. The two first made contact over the phone and stayed in touch for three years before meeting each other in person.

After a few months of dating, Nowitzki proposed and Taylor accepted. The couple were set to get married in July 2009, but Nowitzki's mentor, Holger Geschwindner, hired a private investigator to conduct a background check on Taylor.

The investigation led to Taylor's arrest at Nowitzki's home during the 2009 NBA playoffs. Taylor was arrested for violating probation and theft of service charge. She was on probation in 1999 after receiving a suspended prison sentence for forgery and two counts of felony.

Nowitzki was devastated by the incident and opened up about it in an interview with German publication Bild (h/t ESPN) a month after the arrest.

"In the beginning, I was very down and disappointed, sad and furious," Nowitzki said. But I made a few steps forward and I think someday I will be over it totally. I still want to have a family, but first the wounds must heal."

---

Who won Dirk Nowitzki's heart?

Dirk and Jessica Nowitzki

Roughly about a year after his engagement fell off, Dirk Nowitzki met his future wife. Nowitzki was able to find love again in the form of Jessica Olsson. She's from Sweden with a Kenyan father. Her brothers were professional footballers, Martin Olsson and Marcus Olsson.

The Dallas Mavericks legend and Olsson were married twice, once at his home in Texas, and also in a traditional wedding in Kenya. The couple have three children together, daughter Malaika, born in 2013, and two sons, Morris and Max, born in 2015 and 2016, respectively.

​