Bobby Brown Reveals Sweet Reason He and His Wife ‘Do a Lot of Hugging and Kissing’ in Front of Their Kids (Exclusive)

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The Grammy-winning singer opens up to PEOPLE about his happy life at home with wife Alicia Etheredge-Brown

<p>Unique Nicole/Getty</p> Bobby Brown and Alicia Etheredge-Brown

Unique Nicole/Getty

Bobby Brown and Alicia Etheredge-Brown

Love is always in the air inside the Brown household.

Grammy-winning singer Bobby Brown, 55, and wife of 11 years Alicia Etheredge-Brown, 50, keep each other close, especially at home in front of their kids.

"We try to make time for each other on an everyday basis," Brown tells PEOPLE exclusively of prioritizing quality time with Etheredge-Brown, with whom he shares three children: Cassius, 14, Bodhi, 8, and Hendrix, 7. "It's important to stay grounded, stay in contact with the love that we have for each other."

The New Edition star puts that love on full display in their home. "We do a lot of hugging and kissing in front of the kids to show 'em that love is for real," he says. "How we feel about each other is for real."

<p>Arnold Turner/Getty</p> Bobby Brown and Alicia Etheredge-Brown

Arnold Turner/Getty

Bobby Brown and Alicia Etheredge-Brown

Brown and Etheredge-Brown recently celebrated the life of his late daughter Bobbi Kristina, hosting the fourth annual Bobbi Kristina Serenity House Gala: A Night of Inspiration, Empowerment, and Hope in Los Angeles on March 4.

Bobbi Kristina died at age 22 in 2015 months after being found unresponsive in a bathtub in the home she shared with ex Nick Gordon — an eerie parallel to the way her mother had died several years earlier.

Brown, who continues to grieve the loss, has been open in the past about his previous struggles with drug abuse, and how he wishes he and ex-wife Whitney Houston could have been a better example for their daughter.

Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Bobby Brown holding Bobbi Kristina as a child
Jim Smeal/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images Bobby Brown holding Bobbi Kristina as a child

"How much quality time can you spend with your daughter when you're high all the time?" he wrote in his heartfelt 2016 memoir Every Little Step. "I would get really mad at Whitney, scream and yell that I wanted a divorce. This went on for years and years. Our daughter saw it all. When I think about it now, I just feel enormous pain. We failed her."

Bobby Brown, Jr. and Bobby Brown
Bobby Brown, Jr. and Bobby Brown

Brown, who's been sober for years, is also mourning the loss of his son Bobby Brown, Jr., who died at 28 from an accidental overdose. "I tend to dream about both of 'em, my son and my daughter, which is helpful for me," he says now of envisioning his deceased children. "Just being able to see their faces and I see 'em smiling, it helps me out in a big way."

Bobby Brown and Alicia Etheredge-Brown with kids (from left) Hendrix, Cassius and Bodhi
Bobby Brown and Alicia Etheredge-Brown with kids (from left) Hendrix, Cassius and Bodhi

When it comes to his youngest children, their dad couldn't be prouder. "My son's a great little kid. He's just a little cool little dude," he says of Cassius. "He loves acting and singing and dancing." As for his daughters, "The little ladies love gymnastics. They're flippers. They definitely keep us busy."

Brown is headed back to Vegas soon for the second run of New Edition's hit residency at Wynn Encore. During the first run months ago, he says Etheredge-Brown was right by his side, and bore witness to his and the band's devoted female fanbase.

<p>Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic</p> New Edition

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

New Edition

"I think Alicia handles it well," he says of the legendary boyband's admirers. Besides, he adds with a laugh, "They're really calm these days. They still scream but they're a little slower than they used to be. They don't chase us anymore. They walk up to us."

Kevin Mazur/BET/Getty Bobby Brown and Alicia Etheredge-Brown
Kevin Mazur/BET/Getty Bobby Brown and Alicia Etheredge-Brown

For Brown, he stayed focused on his wife, and she helped him steer clear of distractions. "It was good to have her there in Vegas," he says, "because Vegas is one of those towns you get caught up on them poker tables, the blackjack tables. So having her there really kept me away from all of the garbage."

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