Bobby Brown Shares How He’s Been Able to Cope With Whitney Houston and Bobbi Kristina’s Deaths
Bobby Brown has not been dealt the easiest deck of cards. He had to publicly grieve the death of his longtime ex-wife, superstar singer Whitney Houston. Just a few years later, Bobbi Kristina Brown, the only child of the former pair, also died. Tragedy would strike again when Brown lost his son Bobby Jr. to a drug overdose. Through it all, Brown has remained diligent in trying to push through the pain. He says it wouldn’t be possible without the support of his bandmates.
Bobby Brown credits his New Edition bandmates for helping him cope with Whitney Houston and Bobbi Kristina’s deaths
Brown learned of Houston’s death moments before a performance with New Edition. He dedicated the performance to his late ex-wife. Unfortunately, Bobbi Kristina would suffer an eerily similar fate three years later. She died at the young age of 22. The losses have been difficult for Brown to process. But his support system includes his family and group mates.
“My brothers have stuck by me through so many rough times in my life. I’m proud to call them my brothers and my friends,” he said during a recent visit alongside his group members on The Tamron Hall Show. “They lifted me up and held me up to heights I can’t even find the words to explain, but they’ve always been there for me and I appreciate them all.”
Brown’s strength doesn’t go unnoticed. Despite his previous public image as a bad boy and one who contributed to Houston’s downfall, he’s pressed on and come out stronger. Ronnie DeVoe says he once told Brown “the measure of a man is in what God allows you to endure.”
For DeVoe, it’s been an honor being able to support Brown along the way. “God knew I wouldn’t be able to manage something like that,” he said, adding that helping Brown is something he does willingly. “He walks in giants’ shoes at the end of the day,” DeVoe continued. “I love the fact that he’s still here and able to overcome a lot of those obstacles and look at it like, look, there’s a mission, there’s a purpose for my life, and one of those things is being right here with his five other brothers.”
The singer will reveal all about his painful journey in an upcoming docu series
Brown has a 12-part docu series coming to A&E this March. In a trailer for the series, Brown touches on the heartbreak he’s experienced along the way. He says he’s had “so many losses in his life, but I try to remember all the good parts. Through meditation, prayer, and therapy, I’ve been able to push on from the past.”
The series chronicles Brown’s life with his wife, Alicia Etheredge-Brown, and their children. Brown married Etheredge-Brown in 2012. Camera crews captured Brown working on multiple businesses, new music, as well as a reunion tour with New Edition. He also opens up about his “journey to superstardom and the fallout from his personal struggles with sobriety and the tragic deaths of his two children and first wife, Whitney Houston.”
In an emotional scene, Brown pays a visit to the grave sites of Houston and Bobbi Kristina. He says it’s rare that he visits their final resting places. “When the cameras were following me, I didn’t want to let anything get in between my life and what I was doing,” Brown said in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight. “So, I just wanted the cameras to follow me wherever I was going. That day I happened to be going to the gravesite.”
