Whitney Houston’s best friend, Robyn Crawford, has opened up about their relationship, claiming they were were romantically entangled years ago. Crawford is known to have been Houston’s friend and constant companion, but has only now admitted there was more to it than that in her book A Song For You: My Life with Whitney Houston. Some fans are reeling from the revelation, while others are hardly surprised at all.
Crawford’s new book hits shelves next week, telling the full story of her relationship with Houston uncensored for the first time. An excerpt was given to reporters at PEOPLE, who revealed some of the big secrets on Wednesday. In her writing, Crawford explained how she met met Houston in East Orange, New Jersey, when they were both teenagers.
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“We wanted to be together,” she wrote, “and that meant just us.”
At the time, Crawford was 19 years old and Houston 16, and she said that she immediately felt a strong protective bond with her friend.
“I’m going to look out for you,” she recalled telling her.
According to Crawford, Houston ended the physical aspect of their relationship after just two years. She gave Crawford a slate blue Bible as a gift by way of explanation.
“She said we shouldn’t be physical anymore, because it would make our journey even more difficult,” Crawford wrote. “She said if people find out about us, they would use this against us, and back in the ’80s, that’s how it felt.”
The breakup came just after Houston signed a record deal. However, Crawford remained a confidante for Houston, and said that she managed to come to peace with their arrangement.
“I kept it safe. I found comfort in my silence,” she wrote.
Crawford added that there was pressure from Houston’s family, particularly her mother, gospel singer Cissy Houston.
“Whitney told me her mother said it wasn’t natural for two women to be that close, but we were that close,” she wrote.
She added that they never put labels on their relationship or themselves, though she acknowledged that their closeness led to the years of speculation about Houston’s sexuality as a public figure.
“We never talked about labels, like lesbian or gay,” wrote Crawford. “We just lived our lives and I hoped it could go on that way forever.”
To Crawford, the romance and physicality was just one small part of a deeper bond, and she said she did not feel unsatisfied with the relationship they did get to have.
“Whitney knows I loved her and I know she loved me,” she wrote. “We really meant everything to each other. We vowed to stand by each other.”
Still, Crawford hopes her book will be cathartic for Houston’s fans, who deserve to know the truth after years of unnecessary secrecy. She also wanted a way to tell her story as a part of her own ongoing grieving process following Houston’s death.
“I wanted to lift her legacy, give her respect and share the story of who she was before the fame, and in that, to embrace our friendship,” she said, adding: “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.”
A Song For You: My Life with Whitney Houston hits shelves next Tuesday, Nov. 12, wherever books are sold.
