Robyn Crawford: who was Whitney Houston’s best friend and rumoured lover?
Rumours of Whitney Houston's sexuality and her romance with her best friend and assistant Robyn Crawford have swirled around the pop star for decades. And now they are once again back in the headlines because the relationship between the two women forms a major part of Whitney: Can I Be Me, Nick Broomfield and Rudi Dolezal’s new documentary about the singer who died of a drug overdose in 2012.
In recent years it has been confirmed by just about everybody connected to the pair – except for Crawford herself, who has remained out of the spotlight and did not contribute to the film. But through substantial amounts of archive footage and the testimony of those who knew both at the time, we learn a lot about their relationship through the film. So who is Crawford and what do we know about her?
How did Robyn and Whitney meet?
It was way back in 1979. Whitney Houston and Robyn Crawford, who’s now 56, met when Houston was 16 and both were working at a community center in East Orange, New Jersey. Shortly after Houston died, a moving tribute by Crawford was published by Esquire magazine.
In it she said, “She introduced herself as ‘Whitney Elizabeth Houston’ and I knew right away she was special. Not a lot of people introduced themselves with their middle names back then. She had peachy colored skin and she didn't look like anyone I'd ever met in East Orange, New Jersey.”
The two quickly became best friends. “Not long after I met her, she said, ‘Stick with me, and I'll take you around the world.’ She always knew where she was headed.”
What was their relationship like?
Crawford became Houston’s assistant, then her executive assistant and later her creative director. When Houston travelled the world and her career soared, Crawford was there with her. Rumours that they were more than just friends lingered.
Then in 1992 (the same year that The Bodyguard was released), when Houston was 29, she married 23-year-old rapper Bobby Brown. The pair would have a tumultuous 15-year marriage, one that was as full of love and passion as it was drugs, alcohol and rows. It has been suggested that Houston also maintained her affair with Crawford. But their kinship was more than just sexual.
“Robyn and Whitney were like twins,” says Kevin Ammons in the film, who did security for Houston. “They were inseparable. They had a bond and Bobby Brown could never remove Robyn. He wanted to be the man in the relationship.”
“I don’t think she was gay, I think she was bisexual,” Houston’s long-time stylist Ellin Lavar says. “Robyn provided a safe place for her… in that Whitney found safety and solace.”
“Bobby Brown and Robyn Crawford were like fire and ice. They hated each other,” adds David Roberts, Whitney’s former bodyguard, on whom The Bodyguard was loosely based.
“They’d battle for her affections. Bobby and Robyn had some physical altercations and there were times where he wasn’t always the winner. But then Whitney would always come and pour oil over troubled waters,” he says.
What has Whitney Houston’s mother said about their relationship?
Cissy Houston was a successful singer in her own right and one who was apparently open-minded about same sex relationships – except when it came to her own daughter. Footage from Cissy’s interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2013 is included in the film and she’s unwavering in her view that Crawford and her daughter being together would have bothered her.
That same year she published a memoir, Remembering Whitney, in which she wrote: “I just didn’t want her with my daughter. I know nothing about a romantic relationship. That’s what everybody said but they didn’t know either.”
When did Robyn Crawford leave Whitney Houston?
Too often finding herself in the middle of jealous fights between Houston and Brown, and disapproval from Cissy, Crawford quit in 2000. It was also a difficult year for Houston, who was struggling with drug addiction and ill health, prompting a slew of cancelled performances and a run in with the law when marijuana was found in her bag at Hawaii airport.
It is believed that the two didn’t meet again. “I have never spoken about her until now. And she knew I wouldn't,” said Crawford in Esquire. “She was a loyal friend, and she knew I was never going to be disloyal to her. I was never going to betray her. Now I can't believe that I'm never going to hug her or hear her laughter again. I loved her laughter, and that's what I miss most, that's what I miss already.”
What has Bobby Brown said about their relationship?
Last year, in his new memoir Every Little Step, Brown wrote about Crawford, paying tribute to the relationship between the two women.
“I really feel that if Robyn was accepted into Whitney’s life, Whitney would still be alive today,” Brown said. “She didn’t have close friends with her anymore.”
What has Robyn Crawford’s father said about their relationship?
Crawford’s father Dennis spoke to Radar Online in April, saying that the rumours were true. “I knew 40 years ago, we all knew,” the 79-year-old, said. “I saw them together.”
“When she told me, there was nothing I could do about it except love her,” he said. “[Cissy] knew about the relationship with my daughter 25 years ago. Why she would deny it, you have to ask her.”
“Dionne [Warwick, Houston’s cousin] grew up with them, and knew about it too,” he added.
Where is Robyn Crawford now?
Little is known about Crawford’s life since 2000. But she is openly gay and now married with children.
Whitney: Can I Be Me is released in cinemas on June 16
