Ryan Anderson, Gia Allemand’s boyfriend, has spoken publicly for the first time since she committed suicide nearly two months ago.
E ! Online reports that Anderson became very emotional while speaking out about the Bachelor star’s death.
“Every day is a challenge,” the New Orleans Pelicans forward said. “It helps to be here. My family’s with me. To be here with my teammates really helps a lot, but it’s a roller-coaster.”
He spoke about the role his faith and his work played in helping him recover from the tragic incident. “I praise God every day to have Him in my life,” he said.
“It would be very, bery hard to get through these steps if I didn’t have God and Jesus Christ in my life. I’m really glad coach asked me to come back when I did. I’ve been here for a few weeks now and just being around the guys and being back in the gym, having some sort of routine back, it helps a little bit.”
People Magazine reports that basketball player was the one who discovered his unconscious girlfriend in her New Orleans home and performed CPR before she was taken to the hospital.
Anderson tearfully revealed that he plans to remember 29-year-old Allemand in a positive light and hopes to create a foundation in her memory.
"Something like that just doesn't happen for no reason. And I know that...there's...a huge plan here," he said. "A lot of people are going to be helped from this. And...we're in the process of starting something great for her with her family, including my family too. We have a huge plan to do something great, great in her name that's going to help a lot of people."
Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.