Speaking in his home country to Germany's Bild newspaper, the All-Star forward opened up about his romance with Taylor for the first time in a question-and-answer format that was posted online Tuesday.

Nowitzki said he was "disappointed, sad and furious" in May after Taylor was arrested at his Dallas home but that he thinks he will recover from the ugly breakup.

"I still want to have a family, but first the wounds must heal," said Nowitzki, who turned 31 last week. "However, I still want to have a few little Dirks running around later. But it won't be easy to win my heart."

Taylor, who was indicted in 2006 for allegedly failing to pay a Beaumont dentist for thousands of dollars in dental work, remains in the Jefferson County Jail on theft warrants and a probation violation out of Missouri.

Taylor told The Dallas Morning News in a jailhouse interview that she was pregnant with Nowitzki's child. Nowitzki has filed for custody of the child if a paternity test proves he's the father.

Nowitzki said he didn't want to get into airing "dirty laundry" in response to things Taylor has said about him. The 7-foot former NBA MVP verified that the couple met in a phone call.

"She told me she dialed the wrong number and was trying to call her brother," Nowitzki said. "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 the couple had no contact for months before they finally met. He said they became engaged in December but didn't have a date for the wedding. He said Taylor wanted to get married in July.

"She was a very interesting woman. Funny, absolutely not boring," Nowitzki said.

The eight-time All-Star discounted any long-term impact from the failed romance, saying he can still trust people.

"It's not as though something really bad happened," he said. "I showed bad judgment, and that's that. Life goes on."