Whitney Houston's closest friend and most loyal protector, Robyn Crawford, opened up about something that remained private for a while: She was also Houston's romantic partner back in the 1980's.
In her new memoir A Song For You: My Life with Whitney Houston, Crawford shared details about their love story. "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," wrote Crawford about the fabulous Whitney, who passed away tragically seven years ago.
Robyn Crawford and Whitney Houston wanted to be together
Robyn Crawford revealed that the very first time she saw Whitney, when they were 19 and 17 years old, respectively, she realized the singer was very special, "I’m going to look out for you," she told her. And that's exactly what she did for the next few decades.
Robyn Crawford also said she and Whitney just "wanted to be together.” However, the singer ended the physical part of the relationship as soon as she signed a record deal in the early 1980's. "She said we shouldn’t be physical anymore because it would make our journey even more difficult," Crawford wrote. It seems Houston was worried about people finding out their love affair and use it against them.
People believed it was not natural for two women to be together
Robyn and Whitney's relationship spawned speculation about the singer's sexuality. There was also some pressure from certain people, like Houston's mother Cissy, who believed "it wasn’t natural for two women to be that close." According to Crawford, she and the singer "never talked about labels, like lesbian or gay,” they just lived their lives hoping it could go on that way for many years, “Whitney knows I loved her and I know she loved me. We really meant everything to each other,” she wrote.
Robyn Crawford is now a family fitness trainer. She lives with her partner, talent agency executive Lisa Hintlemann; they adopted two children a couple years ago.
They divorced in 2016 after 12 years of relationship
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