Late Nick Gordon Told Brother He Wished ‘Things Had Been Different’ with Bobbi Kristina Brown
Nick Gordon frequently spoke about his late ex-girlfriend Bobbi Kristina Brown before he died following a drug overdose on Wednesday.
“He literally talked about her every single day. He still loved her so much,” Gordon’s brother, Jack Walker Jr, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “He would say to me, ‘Man, I wanted to marry that girl, I miss her so much.’ ”
“There was not a day that went by that he didn’t get emotional about her. He loved her and he wanted to be with her,” Walker Jr. adds. “He would always say to me, ‘I wish I could have done things differently, man. I wish things had been different. She shouldn’t have gone the way she did.’ ”
Whitney Houston’s daughter was found unconscious and unresponsive with drugs in her system in the bathtub of the Georgia townhouse she shared with Gordon in early 2015. She was 22.
Gordon, who was 30 at the time of his death, was found liable in the wrongful death case of Brown and as a result of the case decision, he was ordered by a judge to pay $36 million to her estate.
RELATED: Bobbi Kristina Brown’s Ex-Boyfriend Nick Gordon Dies at 30 from Drug Overdose
Walker Jr. tells PEOPLE that in recent weeks, Gordon had been “having issues” with his current girlfriend Laura Leal.
“A few weeks ago he and Laura started having issues. It got pretty bad so Nick moved into a hotel,” Walker Jr. says, adding that in the week before his death, Gordon “got distant.”
On the morning of his brother’s death, Walker Jr. says he first learned that something was wrong from their father.
“Our father called me early and said, ‘Son, get to the hospital. Nick is in ICU and it does not look good.’ ” Walker Jr. says. “From what our dad told me, the police found him in the hotel room at 6 a.m.. Apparently he had been dead for 15 minutes. The paramedics got his heart beating again, and at the hospital, it kept stopping so they had to keep bringing him back.”
“When I arrived at the hospital they had him attached to so many tubes, they were literally bringing him back to life again and again,” he continues, noting that “it was too late.”
Walker Jr. previously confirmed to PEOPLE that Gordon died of a drug overdose Wednesday in Florida. PEOPLE has learned the drug in question was heroin.
“We are devastated by the loss of my beautiful brother,” he said in a statement. “He leaves a void in the hearts of my family and his friends. Nick’s battle in life was not an easy one. I will be forever grateful that my God afforded a small moment at the very end of Nick’s life, and I was able to hold his hand as he journeyed on.”
Gordon’s lawyer Joe S. Habachy also told PEOPLE, “My heart is heavy today after learning that my long time client Nick Gordon died at the young age of 30.”
“While I cannot speak to the specific circumstances of his death, I can say that it’s been truly heartbreaking to have witnessed first hand the total devastation that drug addiction has wreaked upon a group of young friends, all of whom were loved and had immense potential,” Habachy added.
“Despite all of the incredible challenges Nick faced over the last few years I can honestly say that he worked hard to hold his head up and stay sober and that he genuinely wanted a happy healthy life with his family more than anything else,” Habachy continued. “My heart goes out to the family and friends Nick leaves behind and to any other families dealing with the losses and heartache caused by drugs.”
Sources told The Daily Mail that Gordon had suffered a number of heart attacks on New Year’s Day and was rushed to the intensive care unit at Altamonte Springs Hospital, where he eventually died.
In recent years, Gordon found himself entangled in legal drama after Leal accused him of a physical altercation.
According to a March 2018 arrest report obtained by PEOPLE, Leal had told authorities that her boyfriend struck her in the face while she was driving, adding that he also pulled her hair and “stated to her that he should make her wreck the vehicle.”
In April 2018, however, Leal, under oath, “denied being struck or touched against her will” by Gordon in statements written in a letter to the judge, according to a statement from the Seminole County state attorney, first obtained by The Blast.
RELATED: Nick Gordon Will Not Be Charged in Domestic Violence Case After Girlfriend Denies Incident
Due to those statements contradicting her original ones, prosecutors decided not to go through with a trial following the review of body camera footage, the 911 audio, sworn statements and jail call recordings, and announced that Gordon would not be charged.
Gordon was previously arrested in June 2017 on domestic battery and false imprisonment charges after Leal filed a police report alleging her boyfriend had beaten her and held her in her home. The charges were dropped in August of that year.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please contact the SAMHSA substance abuse helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.
