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Robyn Crawford on When Her Whitney Houston Relationship Turned Physical

By Zach Seemayer‍ 4:13 PM PST, November 6, 2019

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New details about the long-rumored relationship between the late Whitney Houston and her close friend, Robyn Crawford, are coming to light as Crawford is opening up about their time together.

Following the release of excerpts from Crawford's new memoir, A Song for You: My Life With Whitney Houston -- in which she claims she and the late songstress were romantic partners in the early 1980s -- Crawford is sitting down with Dateline's Craig Melvin to discuss the stories shared in her book.

In a clip of their interview, released by NBC on Wednesday, Crawford claims that their friendship became a romantic relationship not long after getting to know one another.

"Our friendship was a deep friendship. In the early part of that friendship, it was physical," Crawford shares in the clip. "It was during that first summer that we met. That was the first time that our lips touched."

"It wasn't anything planned, it just happened, and it felt wonderful. And then, not long after that, we spent the night together," she adds. "That evening was the night that we touched and that just brought us closer."

When asked if she was expecting their friendship to take a physical turn, Crawford says she "wasn't surprised" by it.

"I was in that moment, it was ours… she just came into my life all of the sudden, I didn't know how long it was gonna last, but I was just enjoying the moment," Crawford says. "And that's what we did. We just enjoyed it."

In her book, Crawford writes that it was Houston -- who died in February 2012 -- who ended the physical part of their relationship in 1982.

"She said we shouldn't be physical anymore, because it would make our journey even more difficult," Crawford writes, adding that Houston gifted her with a Bible when she told her this. "She said if people find out about us, they would use this against us, and back in the '80s that's how it felt."

Crawford adds that Houston's mother, Cissy Houston, was against their bond, claiming, "Whitney told me her mother said it wasn't natural for two women to be that close, but we were that close."

She also notes they "never talked about labels," but writes, “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.”

Houston's ex-husband, Bobby Brown, also claimed the singer had a same-sex relationship with Crawford in his 2016 memoir, Every Little Step: My Story.

"I really feel that if Robyn was accepted into Whitney's life, Whitney would still be alive today," he told Us Weekly at the time. "She didn't have close friends with her anymore."

For more on Whitney Houston, watch the video below.