NBA forward Ryan Anderson, the boyfriend of the late Gia Allemand, gave his first interview following the former “Bachelor” star’s suicide. The New Orleans Pelicans forward said he was having a hard time coping with her death after he found her unconscious on Aug. 12. The basketball player gave her CPR before she was rushed to a hospital, where she passed away two days later.

Anderson told The Times-Picayune's website that his faith, family and teammates are helping him get through this hard time. "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 said on Monday. "Every day is a challenge.”

Since Allemand's passing, Anderson has been trying to create a foundation in honor of the 29-year-old that would help people who are struggling with personal issues including depression, he said. "A lot of people are going to be helped from this," Anderson told the New Orleans site. "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."

Anderson fought back tears as he told The Times-Picayune that he is trying to find meaning in the tragedy: "Something like that just doesn't happen for no reason. And I know that ... there's ... a huge plan here ...," he said.

According to his teammate Jason Smith, Anderson has been doing better recently. "You never want to see anybody go through anything like that," Smith said. "He's made strides. He's always going to have something new every day. But I think he's strong enough to continue to work through it."