Secret Engagement: Eddie Murphy Once Gave Whitney Houston A Diamond Ring, Friend Says
Nov. 11 2019, Updated 7:03 p.m. ET
Back in 1990, Whitney Houston brushed off rumors she was dating famous comic Eddie Murphy. But in her onetime female lover and lifelong friend Robyn Crawford’s explosive new book, A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston, the superstar’s confidante claims the relationship was once so serious, it appeared Murphy gave her an engagement ring!
Crawford alleged Houston, then 26, “had her eyes and heart set” on Murphy in 1989, and eventual husband Bobby Brown was “the backup guy.”
While Houston was “smitten” with the comedian, his behavior was very “hot and cold,” Crawford explained, and he even once stood her up on a date.
But later, he gifted her a big rock!
“He gave Whitney a diamond ring that looked an awful lot like an engagement ring,” Crawford claimed, but admitted she doubted at the time that the two would ever walk down the aisle.
Of course, she eventually married alleged “backup” Brown.
“When the insurance appraiser…came to our house to value Whitney’s jewelry, we found out that the ring Eddie had given her was more valuable than her engagement ring from Bobby,” Crawford wrote. “Whitney shrugged and had Eddie’s ring made into earrings.”
As People first reported, Crawford said Murphy tried to convince Houston not to marry Brown on the same day as the wedding ceremony. She went through with the nuptials anyway.
In her new book, Crawford confirmed rumors she shared a sexual history with Houston, though she claimed the physical relationship ended when the singer found fame in the early 80s.
They remained close, with Crawford working as Houston’s personal assistant for decades. She said she quit when her boss’ behavior became too erratic due to drug abuse and her volatile marriage to Brown.
Houston died in 2012 after drowning in a bathtub, and chronic drug use was listed as a factor in the death.
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