Whitney Houston’s ‘Girlfriend’, Robyn Crawford, Finally Opens Up About Their Relationship

Robyn Crawford, longtime friend and sometime girlfriend of the late Whitney Houston, has finally opened up about their relationship.

People obtained an exclusive excerpt from Crawford’s new memoir, A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston. In it, Crawford confirms that the two had a long romantic relationship that lasted throughout most of the 1980s–something which had been long rumored, even during Houston’s lifetime.

“We wanted to be together,” writes Crawford, “and that meant just us.” The pair met in 1980 and had an immediate attraction. Then Houston signed a record contract with producer Clive Davis in 1982.  That’s when Whitney decided to end the sexual portion of their relationship.

“She said we shouldn’t be physical anymore,” Crawford writes, “because it would make our journey even more difficult. She said if people find out about us, they would use this against us, and back in the ’80s that’s how it felt.”

“I kept it safe,” Crawford confesses. “I found comfort in my silence.”

Crawford also confirms that Whitney’s mother, gospel singer Cissy Houston, railed against their relationship. “Whitney told me her mother said it wasn’t natural for two women to be that close,” writes Crawford, “but we were that close.”

Whitney Houston died of a drug overdose in 2012 at age 48, leaving behind one child – Bobbi Kristina – from her marriage to singer Bobby Brown, and a glittering musical legacy. Bobbi Kristina herself died of an overdose in 2015.

In the years since Houston’s death, numerous friends and relatives have discussed her bisexuality, her relationship with Crawford, as well as her drug use. Crawford’s discussion of their relationship adds something of a capstone to years of innuendo and speculation.

“Whitney knows I loved her and I know she loved me,” says Crawford. “We really meant everything to each other.”