History has shown how love can bring the strongest men down to their knees. In the case of basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki, immense heartbreak cut him so deeply that he publicly stated that any woman who wants to win his heart would have their work cut out for them with regard to winning his trust.
This came after the German basketball star’s failed romance with Cristal Taylor, a woman he was determined to spend the rest of his days with and build a family with. Unfortunately for Dirk, his dream romance was shattered after Cristal was apprehended in May 2009 at the former’s home on probation violation and theft-of-services warrants.
It was safe to say that having his heart broken into a million pieces hurt a lot more than losing in the first round to the “We Believe” Golden State Warriors in the 2007 playoffs.
A curious introduction
The relationship began, curiously, because of a mistake Cristal made while trying to call her brother. According to Dirk, that was the spark that started a flame that seemed like it would never die out. The two began communicating nonstop over the next few years, but didn’t meet in person. Not even once.
“We talked, texted and e-mailed a lot over the next three years, but we never met. It was more of an Internet type of flirt,”Nowitzki said in an interview with the German publication, Bild Magazine.
However, when the day came when Dirk and Cristal finally saw one another in person, the sparks flew like the Fourth of July.
“We were friends for so long, we finally met, and the first meeting was good. Then in December, we got engaged, but we didn’t have a real date for the wedding. She had further plans and wanted to get married in July,” the 7-footer revealed.
While Dirk viewed Cristal through rose-colored glasses, his longtime coach and trusted confidante, Holger Geschwindner, wanted to protect his ward and requested a background check on her. The results uncovered an entire closet filled with skeletons of her sordid past.
Dirk was brought back down to earth
While Cupid had Dirk up in the clouds, Holger brought him back down to earth with hard facts. It turned out that Cristal had a history of financial crimes. In 2006, she was indicted for failing to pay a dentist for services reportedly worth as much as $20,000. In addition, it was discovered that she had violated the terms of her probation in 2000 in Missouri.
Obviously, the discoveries hit Dirk harder than Dwyane Wade’s free-throw spree in the 2006 NBA Finals.
“In the beginning, I was very down and disappointed, sad and furious,” Nowitzki revealed. “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. However, I still want to have a few little Dirks running around later. But it won’t be easy to win my heart,” he emphasized. “It’s not as though something really bad happened. I showed bad judgment, and that’s that. Life goes on.”
Fortunately for Dirk, Cupid shot and struck an arrow in his heart once more. In July 2010, he met Jessica Olsson and found love and happiness with her. They married in 2012 and now have three kids.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Dec 26, 2025, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.