Whitney Houston’s best friend Robyn Crawford has previously chosen not to comment on the speculation surrounding her relationship with the late singer, but is now breaking her silence in her upcoming book, A Song for You: My Life With Whitney Houston.
In an extract from the book published by People, Crawford alleges the pair were lovers, something which has been long rumored.
After meeting as teenagers at a summer camp in 1980, Crawford claims the pair went on to begin a physical relationship, which she says was cut short when Houston signed a record deal with Clive Davis at Arista.
“She said we shouldn’t be physical anymore because it would make our journey even more difficult," writes Crawford. “She said if people find out about us, they would use this against us and back in the ’80s that’s how it felt.”
The two still remained friends, however. Crawford writes, “I kept it safe. I found comfort in my silence.”
Crawford also alleges that Houston's mother Cissy voiced disapproval at a same -sex relationship between the two, saying, “Whitney told me her mother said it wasn’t natural for two women to be that close but we were that close.”
The “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” singer went on to marry R&B artist Bobby Brown, and had daughter Bobbi Kristina with him in 1993. The couple divorced in 2007. Houston died in 2012 at the age of 48, while Bobbi Kristina died in 2015.
In 2016, Brown claimed his ex-wife would still be alive if Crawford had been accepted into her life.
Director Kevin MacDonald was behind the 2018 documentary about the singer, Whitney, and while there were initial discussions about her participation, Crawford eventually declined to be in the production.
However, Macdonald has discussed how Houston's family generally characterized the two women as lovers.
“I think it’s fairly obvious when you talk to the family and friends, nobody is denying that Whitney and Robyn had a physical relationship — a sexual relationship,” Macdonald said.
“They were partners for a number of years. My understanding is that relationship was over in a romantic sense by the mid-’80s when Whitney became a big star.”
Read more from Yahoo Entertainment:
‘DWTS’ judges ‘irritated’ by Sean Spicer not being eliminated despite low scores
John Oliver actually agrees with Trump on something: ‘Just absolutely right’
Al Pacino reveals origin of iconic catchphrase from Oscar-winning performance
Want daily pop culture news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Entertainment & Lifestyle's newsletter.