The Devastating Reason Why Whitney Houston Ended Her Relationship With Robyn Crawford
Whitney Houston‘s musical and cultural legacy lives on years after her untimely and tragic death in 2012. With a public history of substance abuse well documented and reports showing cocaine use as a contributing factor to her death, she became one of the many celebrities the world tragically lost to drug-related complications.
Now, a close friend is coming forward to defend Houston’s legacy and to make sure that her full story is shared. Robyn Crawford was one of Houston’s closest friends throughout her life. Crawford has come forward to set the record straight about her relationship with Houston.
Whitney Houston was romantically linked to many famous men
Houston began performing when she was only a teen and broke into the music scene when she was discovered and signed to a label at the age of 19. She made her television debut in 1983 and was soon rising in the pop charts.
By the late 1980s, Houston was a true celebrity sensation. Her rise to fame has also been dotted with many rumored and confirmed relationships with famous men.
Houston is rumored to have briefly dated Jermaine Jackson in the early 1980s. She was also tied to comedian Eddie Murphy and NFL quarterback Randall Cunningham.
In 1989, she began dating Bobby Brown. The pair would later marry and begin one of Hollywood’s most tumultuous and troubled relationships. The marriage lasted until 2007, but there were rumors of Houston having affairs with Michael Jackson and Tupac Shakur during their time together.
After her divorce, Houston became close with the rapper Ray J, and it was rumored that their relationship was romantic as well.
Whitney Houston’s marriage was tragic
While the relationship with Bobby Brown started out hot and heavy — he had a bad-boy reputation and Houston was at the peak of her career — things soon took a turn for the worse. The pair fueled off one another when it came to substance abuse, and allegations of emotional and physical abuse overshadowed their time together.
The pair had one daughter, Bobbi Kristina, who tragically died in 2013 at the young age of 22. Throughout their years together, the pair were constantly making tabloid headlines, and their daughter had to face the public scrutiny of her family. While one or the other would often try rehab in an attempt to get sober, they were never able to make their goals match up.
Houston’s hairstylist and close friend said: “Part of me felt like she got married to please people. Just to get off of the market so people would stop questioning her.”
Why would people be questioning her? Well, that’s the part of the story that Crawford wants to illuminate.
Whitney Houston faced rumors about her sexuality
Throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s, Houston faced questions about her sexuality. She was even rumored to have been involved in a love triangle with Jodie Foster and Kelly McGillis.
Now, Crawford, who is public about her sexuality as a gay woman and raising two children with her partner, wants to share her side of the story. Crawford has written in her memoir that she and Houston had a close relationship that initially included a romantic component.
However, once Houston signed a record deal, she felt that continuing the relationship was too big of a risk to her career. “She said we shouldn’t be physical anymore,” Crawford explains, “because it would make our journey even more difficult.”
While their relationship may have changed, it did not end. “We never talked about labels, like lesbian or gay,” Crawford said. “We just lived our lives and I hoped it could go on that way forever.”
After Houston’s marriage to Brown, their relationship was altered, and Crawford blames Brown for Houston’s intensifying trouble with substance abuse. She still cared deeply for her friend, however, and never stopped loving her. It’s that love that has her coming forward to share the details of their relationship in an attempt to demonstrate that Houston’s story is more complicated and tragic than many believe.
