The Real Story Behind Whitney Houston and Robyn Crawford’s Relationship
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Find out the truth about Nippy and her longtime companion.
The new biopic Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody explores the relationship between Whitney Houston and Robyn Crawford onscreen for the first time with the permission of the late singer's estate. Crawford, Houston’s longtime friend and onetime secret romantic partner, has been vocal about her complicated and loving relationship with the late superstar. Still, there are many fans of Houston that aren’t familiar with the ins and outs of their bond.
Crawford’s 2019 book, A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston chronicled the complex connection between the two. With Houston’s story coming to the big screen for the first time, their relationship is back in the spotlight.
Here is everything you should know about Whitney Houston and Robyn Crawford’s relationship.
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What was the relationship between Whitney Houston and Robyn Crawford?
In 1980, Whitney Houston and Robyn Crawford met at an East Orange, N.J., summer camp. Houston was 16 and Crawford was 19. This meeting spawned a decades-long bond between the two, which vacillated between professional, platonic and romantic. Crawford has talked about how initially, during that first summer, the two began a sexual and romantic relationship. However, she claims that Houston ended that aspect of their relationship two years later out of fear of the negative impact it could have on both their lives, as she had just signed a record deal.
Crawford explained, "She said that if people find out about us, they would use this against us, and back in the '80s, that's how it felt.”
Even so, the pair continued an incredibly close 22-year relationship, which was ever-changing, with Crawford also working at times as Houston’s assistant, creative director and the co-manager of her company Nippy Inc. Crawford was even the maid of honor at Houston’s wedding to Bobby Brown.
Related: Whitney Houston’s Best Friend, Robyn Crawford, Reveals Their Relationship Was Romantic
How did Whitney Houston meet Robyn Crawford?
Whitney Houston and Robyn Crawford first met at an East Orange summer camp in the summer of 1980 when Houston was 16 and Crawford was 19. According to Crawford, it was during this summer that their relationship turned sexual and romantic, but that aspect only lasted for two years due to the prejudices of the era. The pair continued to be close, however, and had a bond that spanned 22 years.
Related: We Ranked the 15 Best Whitney Houston Songs of All Time
Did Robyn Crawford sleep with Whitney Houston?
Robyn Crawford, Whitney Houston’s longtime best friend and business associate, revealed that she did have a sexual and romantic relationship with Whitney Houston early on. She also discussed how the relationship between the two was fluid and ever-changing. However, the pair felt the need to keep the romantic aspects of their relationship secret out of fear of what it could do to Houston’s career and their lives.
Related: Everything to Know About Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody
Did Whitney have a relationship with Robyn?
Robyn Crawford revealed in her 2019 book A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston that not only were the two best friends for decades, as was known, but they had a romantic and sexual aspect to their relationship at times. This aspect was kept under wraps due to prejudices and the fear of what it could do to both of their lives. Even so, Crawford was Houston’s best friend, the maid of honor at her wedding to Bobby Brown, and also worked as her assistant, creative director and the co-manager of the singer’s company Nippy Inc.
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Who was Robyn in Whitney's life?
It was known for many years that Robyn Crawford was Whitney Houston’s best friend and confidante as well as her assistant, creative director and the co-manager of Houston’s Nippy Inc. Crawford was a guiding force in Houston’s career as well as the maid of honor at Houston and Bobby Brown’s wedding. In her 2019 book A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston, Crawford revealed that their relationship also had a romantic and sexual component, beginning when they first met in the summer of 1980 when the two were teenagers. It was hidden from the public to avoid the relationship having a negative impact on Houston’s career.
What did Robyn say about Whitney Houston?
Robyn Crawford has said a lot about Whitney Houston, especially considering she wrote a 2019 book, A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston.
Crawford has described their relationship by saying, “People pull it out as a relationship—but we met and we clicked and we became friends. We built that friendship [by] being open and honest with each other about everything. She told me she was going to sign this [record] deal and she was going to take me with her all around the world. And along the way, we had an intimate, loving, physical experience of friendship within our friendship. It was love and it was open and honest.”
Why did Robyn leave Whitney?
While the two remained friends up until Whitney Houston’s death in 2012, Robyn Crawford did eventually distance herself from the late singer. In 2000, Crawford had concerns about the state of Houston’s personal life and felt she could not support some of the decisions that were being made.
"No matter what rules we came up with around responsible drug use, she kept breaking them and using whenever she wanted to," Crawford wrote.
Around the time Crawford was making the decision to leave, Houston was canceling shows and missing recording sessions due to the turbulent nature of her private life and addiction.
Crawford had also decided she needed to prove that she could make a living on her own without Houston’s help. She left Houston’s management team and set out on her own, but the two continued to keep in touch and remained important fixtures in each others’ lives.
What happened to Whitney Houston's friend Robyn?
After leaving Whitney Houston’s management team in 2000 and moving to a different state, Robyn Crawford rekindled a relationship with Lisa Hintelmann and the two married and are the parents of twins.
Crawford left the entertainment industry and found work at different times at a tennis club and on a farm.
She described these jobs, “Manning the desk at the tennis club wasn't for me, you know? But I loved the farm. No one knew me, and I loved being outdoors. I stayed the entire summer season and I got a lot of asparagus. I love asparagus to this day!”
In 2019, Crawford’s book about her relationship with Houston called A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston was published.
Related: Dolly Parton Reflects on Working With Whitney Houston
Did Robyn Crawford and Bobby Brown get along?
Robyn Crawford has said various things about Bobby Brown over the years. She was the maid of honor at Whitney Houston’s 1992 wedding to Brown.
Crawford has commented on a supposed beef with Brown that has been covered in the media by saying, “When Whitney chose to partner with someone, I was honored to be the maid of honor at her wedding. I didn’t know Bobby before the wedding. We never really got a chance to know each other. But what I will say is that she told me she loved him."
She added, "Bobby and I were not squaring off in Everlast shorts and boxing gloves. That never happened. I was still in the same spot where Whitney always wanted me to be. Bobby never approached me personally or said anything to me about the rumors of our relationship. Not once. But I watched him make a mess of her trail. I wasn’t competing with him for anything. I was her friend. And he could have been a better friend, too.”
However, she was also quoted as saying, “Bobby was annoying. He was very annoying.”
Crawford has also revealed that she suspected Brown was abusing Houston.
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What did Bobby Brown say about Robyn Crawford?
Bobby Brown has confirmed that Whitney Houston had a secret same-sex relationship with Robyn Crawford. Brown claims that Houston’s mother, Cissy Houston, did not approve of the lesbian relationship and was insistent that Crawford be fired. He said she “absolutely” would have been bothered by having a gay daughter and would not have approved of it.
In 2016, he commented on the relationship, saying, “I really feel that if Robyn was accepted into Whitney’s life, Whitney would still be alive today.”
