Whitney Houston’s longtime friend is finally breaking her silence on their romantic relationship in a new memoir out next week, A Song For You: My Life with Whitney Houston.
Crawford, who grew up in the same neighborhood as Houston in New Jersey, told People why she’s finally speaking out about a woman she loved fiercely.
“I’d come to the point where I felt the need to stand up for our friendship. And I felt an urgency to stand up and share the woman behind the incredible talent,” she said of Houston, who died in 2012.
Although the memoir doesn’t hit shelves until next Tuesday, here’s everything we know about the book so far and what fans can expect to learn about The Voice.
01
Houston First Tried Cocaine At Age 14, Per Crawford
“Whitney told me she was 14 when she first tried it,” Crawford writes in her memoir. “Whitney would often say ‘Cocaine can’t go where we’re going.’ [But] we weren’t ready to give it up quite yet.”
02
They Had An Instant Physical Connection
Crawford writes in her memoir, according to People, that the two met as camp counselors in an East Orange, New Jersey summer camp. Crawford was two years older than a 17-year-old Houston. “We talked and talked, and then all of a sudden, we were face to face. The first kiss was long and slow, like honey,” Crawford writes. “As we eased out of it, my nerves shot up and my heart beat furiously. Something was happening between us.”
03
They Ended Their Physical Relationship Shortly After Houston Signed A Record Deal In 1982
“She said we shouldn’t be physical anymore because it would make our journey even more difficult,” Crawford wrote in A Song For You. “She said if people find out about us, they would use this against us, and back in the ’80s that’s how it felt.”
04
Cissy Houston Didn’t Approve Of Their Relationship
In the book, Crawford claims that Houston’s mother, Cissy, didn’t approve of their relationship. “It wasn’t natural for two women to be that close,” Crawford claimed the matriarch said once.
05
Eddie Murphy Called Houston On Her Wedding Day To Bobby Brown
It seems Murphy and Houston had a deeper relationship than what was previously known to the 1980s tabloids. “She was more interested in Eddie Murphy, but he was elusive,” Crawford writes. By 1992, the two were still involved somehow since Murphy called Houston on her wedding day to the R&B singer. “Eddie Murphy called to say she was making a mistake, but she pressed ahead,” Crawford writes.
