Top Secret Love: Details Of Whitney Houston's Turbulent Lesbian Affair With Assistant Exposed In New Tell-All
June 11 2015, Published 7:02 a.m. ET
Before she succumbed to a drug overdose and accidental drowning, Whitney Houston was perhaps best known for her tumultuous relationship with former husband Bobby Brown. But according to biographer Ian Halperin, the author of Whitney & Bobbi Kristina: The Deadly Price of Fame, the late singer shared a top-secret lesbian love affair with her lifelong best friend and later assistant, Robyn Crawford.
Whitney Houston who tragically died at the age of 48 in the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, CA on the 12th February 2012
Houston met Crawford while working as a camp counselor in between recording sessions when she was just 16. Immediately, the singer's mom Cissy did not approve of the close friendship, Halperin writes.
EXCLUSIVE: Robyn Crawford – who was reportedly once closely linked to deceased singer Whitney Houston – seen in New Jersey on Weds February 22nd
When fellow teens sensed the friendship could be something more and made a comment, she went on the defensive. In one incident, a student called Houston a "d*ke," prompting her to fly into a rage. "Whitney had this girl pinned up to the wall…'If I ever hear you spreading gossip about me, it'll be the last time you ever do,' Whitney warned her,'" a childhood friend told Halperin.
Whitney Houston died at the age of 48
In the mid-80s, Crawford moved into Houston's apartment in New Jersey's Mendham Township. The songstress calmed her disapproving mother down with a luxury condo, the author claims.
Ron Galella Archive – File Photos 2011
Perhaps to stop rumors, Houston told Ebony magazine she was dating "It" actor Eddie Murphy in 1988. After the singer's 2011 death, Murphy confessed he had never dated her.
Ron Galella Archive – File Photos 2011
Houston's mother once said that Crawford was the first person to tell her about her daughter's drug habit. The star immediately denied a problem.
Celebrity Sightings at Los Angeles International Airport
When Halperin asked Houston's father John directly about the lesbian rumors, he didn't deny them. "I don't ask my daughter what goes on in her bedroom," he said. He admitted the singer's inner circle pleaded with her to spend less time with Crawford.
Archive photos of Bobbi Kristina Brown and Whitney Houston
By 1991, the pair's relationship had turned violent. The star's former bodyguard Kevin Ammons told Halperin he once witnessed Crawford grabbing her rumored lover's arm screaming, 'Don't ever disrespect me like that,' after she chatted with rapper MC Hammer. After Crawford slapped Houston, mom Cissy allegedly got involved. "I'll kill you, you stupid b*tch!" Ammons claimed Cissy told Crawford, who was working as Houston's assistant by that time.
Archive photos of Bobbi Kristina Brown and Whitney Houston
While on tour in 1991, the two women reportedly shared a hotel room.
Whitney Houston died at the age of 48
An L.A. waiter told the reporter he saw Houston locking lips with another woman, likely Crawford, at Chasen's restaurant in the early 90s. "I was taken by surprise when I found them kissing," he recalled. "I'm sure they knew I saw them, but it seemed as if they didn't care."
WHITNEY HOUSTON IN Milan
It seems her secrets almost went public. In 1992, John Houston told the FBI that his daughter was being extorted by someone claiming to have "knowledge of intimate details regarding Whitney Houston's romantic relationships." Houston told investigators that the woman was a "former friend." Her father settled the matter privately.
**STOCK** Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown at Soul Train Awards in L.A.
After Houston married Bobby Brown in the summer of 1992, Houston's former bodyguard said Crawford threatened to tell all about her relationship with the singer. Houston's father allegedly offered the bodyguard $6,000 to keep Crawford quiet.
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EXCLUSIVE: ** PREMIUM RATES APPLY ** Whitney Houston seen with her daughter Bobbi Kristina and Bobby Brown at Bobby’s birthday at Tavern on Green in NYC on February 4, 1994
Love triangle? The next year, Brown, Houston and Crawford allegedly got into a "physical altercation" at New York's Peninsula Hotel, a security guard told biographer Jeffrey Bowman.
Whitney Houston Performs at the Arthur Ashe Stadium Inauguration Ceremonies on August 27, 1997 in in Flushing Queens
It seems Houston cut off all professional relations with Crawford in 2000. "In May, Crawford resigned from Houston's New Jersey-based company, Nippy Inc., and moved to Los Angeles," Us Weekly reported that year, according to Halperin.
INF – Bobbi Kristina Brown – Stock Images
After Houston's tragic death, British activist and Houston pal Peter Tatchell claimed her breakup from Crawford led to her downward spiral. "Whitney was happiest and at the peak of her career when she was with Robyn," he wrote. "Sadly, she suffered family and church pressure to end her greatest love of all. She was fearful of the effects that lesbian rumors might have on her family, reputation and career…It seems like that the split with Robin contributed to her substance abuse and decline."
