Robyn Crawford’s new memoir, ‘My Song For You: My Life with Whitney Houston’ reveals the two women shared a romantic relationship
Whitney Houston’s best friend and longtime rumored lover, Robyn Crawford, revealed details about her romantic relationship with the late singer and how Houston’s mother disapproved.
For decades, whispers of Houston and Crawford’s friendship swirled as tabloids speculated if there was something more than the platonic front they presented.
Now, Crawford is publicly breaking her silence on the affair in an interview on NBC’s Dateline and in her new book, ‘My Song For You: My Life with Whitney Houston.’
She told People: ‘I’d come to the point where I felt the need to stand up for our friendship. And I felt an urgency to stand up and share the woman behind the incredible talent.’
The two met when Crawford, then 19, and Houston, aged 17, were both counselors at an New Jersey summer camp.
She told Houston: ‘I’m going to look out for you.’
Crawford (left) and Houston (right) met in New Jersey during the summer of 1980 when their friendship soon became physical
And for the next three decades, as Houston rose to superstardom, married singer Bobby Brown and publicly battled substance addiction, that is what Crawford did.
Crawford confirms that the two did share a intimate relationship, detailing the revelations for NBC.
‘It was during that first summer that we met, was the first time our lips touched. And it wasn’t anything planned, it just happened. And it felt wonderful,’ Crawford said.
‘And then, not long after that, we spent the night together. And that evening was the night that we touched. And that just brought us closer.’
Crawford explained the seamless transition of their relationship by pointing to their close bond.
Crawford (left): ‘We were intimate on many levels and all I can say is that it was very deep, and we were very connected’
‘We were intimate on many levels and all I can say is that it was very deep, and we were very connected,’ she said.
Despite being as close as they were, their physical intimacy came to a halt before Houston became a celebrity.
Crawford says it was homophobic pressure that put a wrench in the budding romance.
Pictured: Houston (left), Bobby Brown (middle) and Crawford (far right) in 1994
In her memoir, Crawford wrote: ‘She said we shouldn’t be physical anymore, because it would make our journey even more difficult.’
This happened in 1982 right before Houston was signed with Clive Davis and Arista Records.
Crawford admits they were trying to make sure nothing stood in the way of Houston’s dreams.
‘The music business was a world that we were learning, and we didn’t want anything to interfere with where she was going,’ she said.
‘I just felt that I wouldn’t be losing much. I still loved her the same. And she loved me. And that was enough.’
Crawford details that Houston presented her with a Bible, saying people would use their relationship against them.
Houston (right) reportedly stopped her physical relationship with Crawford (left), saying people would use it against them
One of those people included Houston’s mother, 86-year-old Cissy Houston.
During a 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Cissy denied Houston was besides straight and that if her daughter had been gay, she would not have allowed it.
‘Whitney told me her mother said it wasn’t natural for two women to be that close,’ Crawford said, ‘but we were that close.’
Movies describing Houston’s life, including ‘Whitney: Can I Be Me’ and 2018’s ‘Whitney’, highlighted the homophobia that came from her family and the entertainment business at the time.
Cissy Houston denied that her daughter, Whitney (right), was gay in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2013
Some parallels were reportedly drawn between Houston’s descent into the addiction and Crawford’s waning friendship with the singer.
Bobby Brown, Houston’s former husband, said in 2016 that Crawford may have been the stabilizing force that could have saved Houston.
‘I really feel that if Robyn was accepted into Whitney’s life, Whitney would still be alive today,’ he said.’
As for why she’s decided now to com forward with their relationship, she told NBC she wanted to share who Houston was behind all the glitters of fame.
Crawford said: ‘I never envisioned speaking publicly about my life and then I asked myself the question, “What would Whitney want?”‘
Crawford (right) has decided to share her relationship with Houston (right) because, ‘I owe it to my friend to share her story, my story. Our story’
‘Would she understand the time is now?’
This is Crawford’s first step in reclaiming a story that has been scandalized by tabloids and framed by various other people in Houston’s life.
She said: ‘Believe me, I’ve done my best to stay out of the spotlight, keeping quiet while others painted their own pictures of me and us.’
‘In the nineteen years since I left Whitney’s company, I have been pursued relentlessly to tell my story. I believe it is my duty to honor my friend and to clarify the many inaccuracies about myself and about who Whitney was.’
‘I owe it to my friend to share her story, my story. Our story. And I hope that in doing so, I can set us both free.’