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Robyn Crawford, better know as Whitney Houston’s best friend and right-hand woman, has finally broken her silence on the specifics of their relationship.
Seven years after the tragic and untimely death of Houston’s tragic death, Crawford is confirming long believed rumors of a love affair with the late singer.
Crawford spoke about the affair for the first time in her memoir A Song For You: My Life with Whitney Houston. The book hits stores on November 12th.
Houston and Crawford met in 1980 when both were camp counselors in East Orange, New Jersey. “It was during that first summer that we met, it was the first time our lips touched, it wasn’t anything planned, it just happened and it felt wonderful. And then, not long after that, we spend the night together. And that evening was the night that we touched, and that just bought us closer,” Crawford told NBC News
They met as teenagers in 1980 when they were both counselors at an East Orange, New Jersey summer camp. “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,” Crawford tells NBC News. “And it felt wonderful. 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.”
“We were intimate on many levels and all I can say was that it was very deep and we were very connected,” she added.
According to Crawford, Whitney ended the physical part of their relationship when she signed a record deal with Arista Records in 1982, the singer delivered the news by giving Crawford a blue Bible.
“She said we shouldn’t be physical anymore,” says Crawford, “because it would make our journey even more difficult.”
Whitney’s mother was a strong opponent of the relationship citing that it is not natural for two women to be as close as they were. Whitney told me her mother said it wasn’t natural for two women to be that close,” said Crawford, “but we were that close.”
Whitney’s sexuality was the subject of conversation for many years, especially as Crawford remained around through the majority of Houston’s career. “We never talked about labels, like lesbian or gay,” writes Crawford. “We just lived our lives and I hoped it could go on that way forever.”
Houston died in 2012 at the age of 48 when she had accidentally drowned in the bathtub, with heart disease and cocaine use as contributing factor. “Whitney knows I loved her and I know she loved me,” says Crawford. “We really meant everything to each other. We vowed to stand by each other.”
