Whitney Houston's Tragic Real-Life Story

Whitney Houston had a squeaky-clean image for the first half of her career, but in the later years of her life, her troubles became more apparent. She and ex-husband Bobby Brown's reality show, Being Bobby Brown, tarnished her image, and allegations of drug abuse followed her for nearly a decade thereafter. Following her tragic death in February 2012, when she drowned in a bathtub after reportedly using a combination of illegal and prescription drugs, fans were shocked and saddened, but no necessarily surprised. 

As it turns out, the surface level drama was only a small portion of the traumatic life that Houston led. Before becoming one of the world's most renowned vocalists, she had a heartbreaking past that was more insidious than anyone would let on publicly. The tragic real-life story of Whitney Houston paints a much sadder, darker picture than the legendary singer portrayed publicly — but the skeletons are beginning to tumble out of the Houston family closet once and for all.

In the 2018 documentary Whitney, sources close to the Grammy winner claimed she suffered abuse growing up, creating psychological trauma that plagued her for the rest of her life.

Whitney Houston's longtime assistant, Mary Jones, told Whitney director Keith Macdonald (via the Associated Press) that Houston's cousin, Grammy-nominated singer Dee Dee Warwick, allegedly molested Houston. Warwick was 18 years Houston's senior. Houston's brother, Gary Garland-Houston, also claimed that both he and Whitney were victimized by a female family member as children, though he did not name Warwick. 

The incidents allegedly took place while Gary and Whitney's mother, Cissy Houston, was on tour. Jones claimed in the documentary that Whitney's experience is what made her so insistent on bringing daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown on tour with her. Jones also alleged that Whitney's sexuality and substance abuse problems later in life were tied directly to her childhood trauma. Jones claimed Whitney married Bobby Brown in 1992 in an attempt to "stabilize" her feelings.

Warwick died in 2008.

Insiders claim Whitney Houston was a drug user long before she met Bobby Brown, and that her handlers and record label deliberately peddled the narrative that he corrupted the "good girl" and got her involved in dangerous habits. "It's a fairy tale," said Rudi Dolezal, director of the 2017 documentary Whitney: Can I Be Me. Speaking to the New York Post in August 2017, Dolezal said, "The idea that Whitney was a great girl until Bobby came along is simply not true. Whitney took drugs and smoked weed a long time before she could even spell 'Bobby Brown.'" 

Houston's longtime stylist, Ellin LaVar, says in the documentary (via the New York Post), "They [Whitney and her two brothers] did drugs. It was the thing you do. You go out, you party, you drink, you do a little drugs. Everybody did it. And her brothers gave it to her. It was just something you do to have fun."

Houston's older brother, Michael Houston, confessed that he introduced the singer to cocaine. "I feel responsible for what I let go so far," he said on Oprah's Next Chapter. "We played together — everything that you do together as you're growing up — and then when you get into drugs, you do that together too, and it just got out of hand... You gotta understand, at the time, the '80s, it was acceptable... In the entertainment industry it was just like, available. It wasn't like a bad word like it is now."

Sources told People that Whitney Houston struggled with the pressures of fame and being forced into a role that didn't feel genuine. "There were a lot of expectations in terms of who she was and who people thought she was," said a source close to the singer's family. "I think not being able to be herself 100 percent was a hell of a burden for her to have to carry. Someone may look good on the outside, sturdy and strong ... [but] on the inside, you have someone who had insecurities and family issues and emotional personal issues and struggles."

The insider added that once Houston signed with legendary producer Clive Davis, "[she] had to do what he said, wear what he said to, sing what he wanted her to sing and act like a goody two shoes when she was really a down and dirty girl from Jersey. Whitney definitely resented that." A music industry source noted, "Clive made her into a mainstream pop star and allowed all of her wildest dreams to come true, but being this massive pop star came at a price. She had to act a certain way in front of the cameras for the label. That wasn't the real Whitney."

A family friend told People that Whitney Houston used drugs as a form of rebellion against her clean-cut image and the people who tried to control it. "[Drugs became] her rebellion against it all," the source said. "There has to be some outlet. For her, it became drugs." A music industry insider concurred that Houston "did drugs to escape her pain."

Houston's drug use eventually transitioned from recreational dabbling to addiction. "Things got worse and worse," a family source told the magazine. "Suddenly, when she was using, she had no idea who she was or who you were and she became angry and lashed out. We'd take turns checking on her in Atlanta when things were bad." The insider claimed enablers "allowed Whitney to do what she wanted to do" for fear of getting fired "if she felt you were not being cooperative on some level."

In Bobby Brown's 2016 book, Every Little Step, he says he and Whitney Houston "failed" daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown and often used drugs in their little girl's presence. "For some reason Whitney's drug use got worse after Bobbi Kris was born. Maybe it was because she had to stop using all those months while she was pregnant, but she resumed with a vengeance. I would try to keep Whitney locked in the room, telling her she shouldn't come in front of our daughter because of the way the drugs affected her. But I couldn't police Whitney; nobody could police Whitney. She did what she wanted," he wrote (via People).

"Our daughter was growing up in the middle of all of this," he wrote. "She often saw her mother and father high, and was around the two of us when we were f**ked up. We tried to keep it away from her, but it was hard for us to see her only when we were sober. How much quality time can you spend with your daughter when you're high all the time? ... This went on for years and years. Our daughter saw it all. When I think about it now, I just feel enormous pain."

Los Angeles Times writer Amy Kaufman, who viewed Whitney at the Cannes Film Festival, claims the documentary paints a dark and sinister picture of Bobbi Kristina Brown. "The doc reveals that Bobbi Kristina once attempted suicide while Houston was alive, cutting her arms," Kaufman tweeted. "She apparently said she wished she could find a way to kill her mother without anyone finding out."

A woman identified as "Aunt Bae" in the film claims (via People) that after Whitney Houston came home from the hospital with baby Bobbi Kristina, she left her primarily in Aunt Bae's care for the first eight years of the child's life. Though Bobby Brown and Houston doted on their daughter in public, sources in the documentary (via Us Weekly ) allege that the superstars were neglectful parents who exposed Bobbi Kristina to drugs at a young age.

In the 2016 book Whitney & Bobbi Kristina: The Deadly Price of Fame (via the New York Post), author Ian Halperin claims Whitney Houston was targeted by a Chicago lawyer who tried to extort her. On the eve of the Bodyguard film debut in 1992, the attorney allegedly demanded $250,000 from the songbird or he'd go public with "intimate details" about her love life. Whitney's father, John Houston, reportedly "settled the matter by sending a confidentiality agreement almost immediately... [it was] unclear how much money was paid to silence the person and whether he met the initial demand for $250,000."

What kind of dirt was the lawyer threatening to dish? It could have had something to do with rumors about Whitney being in a romantic relationship with her longtime assistant and close friend Robyn Crawford. Whitney and her mother, Cissy Houston, denied the claims, but even Bobby Brown alleged in his book Every Little Step (via Us Weekly) that Whitney was bisexual.

In Whitney: Can I Be Me (via People), Whitney's former bodyguard, David Roberts, says, "Bobby Brown and Robyn Crawford were like fire and ice. They hated each other. They'd battle for her affections." And former stylist Ellen LaVar says in the film, "I think she was bisexual ... Robyn provided a safe place for her."

Former bodyguard Kevin Ammons claims Whitney houston's father, John Houston, did not approve of her alleged relationship with Robyn Crawford. According to Whitney & Bobbi Kristina: The Deadly Price of Fame (via the New York Post), Kevin says John offered him $6,000 to "put the fear of God" in Robyn. Kevin says he refused, and John then allegedly "warned the bodyguards to 'keep an eye' on Robyn."

Whitney's mother, Cissy Houston, told Oprah Winfrey she would "absolutely" be unhappy if Whitney had been in a relationship with a woman and that she "didn't particularly like" Robyn because she "was disrespectful sometimes" but "turned out to be alright, I guess ... They were very good friends."

In 1999, Robyn reportedly left the singer for good. In Whitney: Can I Be Me (via People), stylist Ellin LaVar says Robyn's exit "was the beginning of [Whitney's] downfall." Bobby Brown also claimed that the family's scorn and Crawford's depature crushed Whitney. "I really feel that if Robyn was accepted into Whitney's life, Whitney would still be alive today," he told Us Weekly. "She didn't have close friends with her anymore." 

Though in subsequent interviews Bobby Brown has adamantly denied ever striking Whitney Houston, he admitted in his book, Every Little Step (via E! News), that he did, at one time, hit her because she was allegedly doing drugs while he was trying to get clean. "I did [strike Whitney]," he wrote. "Me at the time, trying to maintain a sobriety and the person that's in your relationship is not going along with it — it was rough."

The former New Edition singer also accuses Whitney in his book (via People) of having more than one affair during their relationship, and he uses those allegations to justify his own infidelity. "In fact, she cheated before I did," he wrote. "She slept with quite a few of the producers and artists that she worked with or associated with [over] the years. I won't drop any names here because they're still around and a few view me as a friend. When I found out about the first one, I was blown away. I thought, 'Okay, okay, you gonna play me like that? I'm not that type of dude, but if you can do it, I can do it too.'"

Madonna didn't mince words when it came to Whitney Houston, who was one of her biggest Billboard chart rivals. Madge even described the "I Will Always Love You" singer as "horribly mediocre" in a letter to a friend (via Page Six) in the early '90s. Madonna allegedly wrote that she was tired of being compared to Whitney and would "rather die" than be like her.

Whitney appears to have remained diplomatic when questioned about or compared to the "Material Girl."

During one of Whitney Houston's darkest periods, her own sister-in-law, Tina Brown, reportedly sold her out to the tabloids. According to Vanity Fair, Brown was allegedly addicted to crack cocaine and sold a story titled "Inside Whitney's Drug Den" to the National Enquirer. In the story, Brown claims Houston saw "demons" when she was high and believed the demons beat her up until she was black and blue; Brown believes Houston inflicted the injuries upon herself.

Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown were on relatively equal footing in their careers when they met in 1989 at the Soul Train Awards, but she eclipsed him in an epic manner with the success of 1992's The Bodyguard and its smash song, "I Will Always Love You." Her longtime real-life bodyguard, David Roberts, believes Brown resented her for it, leading to the demise of their marriage.

"[Brown] was just not good at looking after her. He was always either in conflict or creating conflict," Roberts told The Guardian, adding that he believed Brown "lost his own identity, which I suspect he resented deeply, especially as his own talents were inferior to Miss Houston's."

Roberts claims Brown was physically and verbally abusive to Whitney, no matter how much she tried to placate his fragile ego. "[Brown] was jealous of her success, so he rubbed her face in his cheating, but she forgave him every possible indiscretion. I just couldn't understand it. And it ate away at her." Roberts believes Whitney would still be alive today if she had not gotten involved with Brown. "Unfortunately, Mr. Brown has a lot of inadequacies he has to come to terms with, and I'm not sure he has, even to this day."

Bobby Brown previously confessed that Whitney Houston's struggle with drug abuse was severe, but sources claim in Whitney that it was even worse than previously reported. Houston's brother, Michael, who worked as her tour manager, claimed they'd frequently use drugs together. Home video footage in the documentary reportedly shows Houston chain-smoking and behaving erratically.

Houston's longtime stylist, Ellin Lavar, and her bodyguard, David Roberts, were terrified for her life. Lavar says in the film (via People) that she begged Houston to get clean for years. Roberts said that he alerted Houston's team to her rampant drug use in 1999 after allegedly witnessing her overdose on her My Love Is Your Love tour. Instead of getting help for Houston, Roberts claims, the team fired him.

Houston reportedly tried to get help for her drug addiction but couldn't stay clean. Her former drug counselor, Carrie Starks, says in the film, "She wanted to be normal ... She really didn't care about fancy clothes and fancy cars. She would say to me, 'I want to get off drugs so I can be a mother to my daughter.'" 

Raffles Van Exel, a self-described "entertainment consultant," was reportedly close to Whitney Houston at the time of her death. He told the Mirror that he found Houston's body, and he told a Dutch newspaper (via the Daily Mail) that he "emptied" her hotel room, though he didn't say what he removed. Sources told TMZ that a person(s) may have removed evidence from the room before authorities arrived. One insider claimed that the same person who allegedly removed cocaine from Houston's hotel room is the same person who supplied it to her.

Van Exel vehemently denied any connection to those claims, telling the Mirror, "The only thing I did was help Whitney's family take all her belongings out of the hotel room after the police had given us permission to clear it. I did not 'clean' the room and I never said I did."

After Whitney Houston's untimely death, someone at her viewing sold a photo of her in her casket to the National Enquirer, sending her family and friends, as well as the funeral home where she was laid to rest, into a tizzy trying to figure out who would do something so foul. 

Tragically, when Houston and Bobby Brown's daughter died in 2015, someone also sold a photo of Bobbi Kristina Brown in her casket to the same tabloid for what was rumored to be more than $100,000. The Houston and Brown families have reportedly feuded with one another and exchanged blame trying to determine who would stoop to such a level.

Despite Whitney Houston's well-documented drug abuse and the coroner's report, Bobby Brown still insists drugs were not to blame for her tragic death. He told Rolling Stone in February 2018 that she died from "just being broken-hearted." 

Though the coroner's report cited cocaine, Benadryl, Xanax, and marijuana, Brown said, "She was really working hard on herself to try to be a sober person and ... she was a great woman." Brown would not elaborate on what he believed contributed to Houston's allegedly broken heart or why he refused to believe she was still using drugs at the time of her passing.

Whitney director Kevin Macdonald told Deadline, "I think Bobby just isn't really ready to be honest ... There's the perfect example of somebody who is, I think, [feeling] just very guilty. I'm surmising that, I don't know that, but it feels like there's a lot of guilt, and a kind of posturing, and a self-protectiveness that's still going on there. And he felt, to me, just unwilling — or unable — to really be honest about himself, let alone to be honest about Whitney."

In November 2019, Robyn Crawford released her memoir A Song For You: My Life With Whitney Houston, in which she detailed their relationship for the first time. Crawford wrote (via People) that they first met when they both worked as counselors at a summer camp when Crawford was 19 and Houston was about to turn 17. Crawford said their relationship was a physical and romantic one, but not for long. Houston ended their sexual relationship by gifting Crawford a Bible, and explaining that being romantic would "make [their] journey even more difficult." Crawford also said that Houston's mother disapproved of the relationship, and said it was "unnatural" for women to be as close as Crawford and Whitney were.

"We never talked about labels, like lesbian or gay. We just lived our lives and I hoped it could go on that way forever" Crawford wrote. The pair remained close until Whitney's tragic death at 48 years old in 2012. Crawford says of their enduring bond, "Whitney knows I loved her and I know she loved me. We really meant everything to each other. We vowed to stand by each other."

Robyn Crawford alleged in A Song For You: My Life With Whitney Houston that before Whitney Houston walked down the aisle with Bobby Brown, the "How Will I Know" singer was in hot pursuit of none other than Eddie Murphy. Murphy couldn't be tied down, however, even for just one date. 

Crawford wrote (via People), "One day when Eddie was supposed to come for dinner, I caught a glimpse of Whitney. She was wearing a black dress and low-heeled slingbacks. For a moment, I thought 'Boy, I wish she was doing that for me.'" But Murphy didn't show, leaving Houston heartbroken; Crawford says Houston "lost herself" trying to land the Coming To America actor and comedian. It wasn't until the day Houston was set to marry Bobby Brown that Murphy came around, with Crawford claiming Murphy called Houston to tell her "she was making a mistake." She didn't listen — he'd already had his chance, and by then, she'd moved on and was head over heels for the New Edition crooner.