Whitney Houston’s longtime friend and speculated lover Robyn Crawford is finally speaking out about her bond with the music icon in the upcoming memoir A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston, reports People.
The book will provide in-depth details about their lives together, from their lives in East Orange, New Jersey, to the heights of Whitney’s career and her turbulent relationship with Bobby Brown. A press release was issued for the memoir’s fall release.
“Since Whitney’s death in 2012, [her] trusted and loyal friend, Robyn Crawford, has stayed out of the limelight and held the great joys, wild adventures, and hard truths of her life with Whitney close to her heart.
“Deeply personal and heartfelt, A Song for You is the vital, honest, and previously untold story that provides an understanding of the complex life of Whitney Houston. Finally, the person who knew her best sets the record straight.”
In A Song for You, Crawford “breaks her silence to share the moving and often complicated story of her life and relationship with Whitney.”
The singer was rumored to be romantically involved with Crawford, her best friend and executive assistant. Last year, Whitney, a documentary about Houston, went into further detail about the relationship. Crawford did not comment on or participate in the film.
Director Kevin Macdonald said he hoped the film expressed his personal belief that that the two were romantically involved.
Robyn Crawford Will 'Set the Record Straight' About Her Relationship with Whitney Houston in Memoir https://t.co/rIj36YdXHf
— People (@people) April 25, 2019
According to People, in the documentary, Houston ran away from her home following the divorce of her parents to move in with Crawford at 18. Houston’s long-term agent Nicole David believed the two to have been in love and in a relationship at the time.
Their romance transitioned into something more platonic as time went on and Houston’s fame began to rise. Macdonald said that by the mid-1980s, Crawford and Houston had settled into being close friends.
Houston’s former boyfriend, restaurateur Brad Johnson, recalled several instances when he held the star’s hand while sitting across from Crawford in a limousine and felt no tension or hostility on her part.
The Houston family had animosity toward Crawford and disliked the connection she had with the singer, accusing her of being an opportunist and a bad influence. Others in Houston’s circle greatly appreciated Crawford’s creative contributions behind the scenes, as she worked hard to cultivate Houston’s albums and image.
Things between the two began to fall apart following Houston’s marriage to Bobby Brown in 1992. By the late 1990s, the pair had gone their separate ways and did not talk for years.
A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston is scheduled for release on November 5.