Robyn Crawford Breaks Her Silence On Relationship With Whitney Houston

Whitney Houston‘s longtime close friend Robyn Crawford opens up for the first time about their romantic relationship in a new memoir, “A Song For You: My Life with Whitney Houston.”

The fiercely private Crawford finally shared intimate details about her bond with the superstar whom she met around 1980 in New Jersey when the two were in their late teens.

Crawford revealed in the book that soon after Houston signed a record deal with Clive Davis at Arista, she ended the physical relationship with Crawford by giving her a blue bible to breaking the news.

“She said we shouldn’t be physical anymore because it would make our journey even more difficult,” Crawford wrote in her book. “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 also said that Houston’s mother, gospel singer Cissy Houston, was also very concerned about their close bond, writing: “Whitney told me her mother said it wasn’t natural for two women to be that close, but we were that close.”

The rumors of a lesbian relationship had always followed the pair, Crawford said she kept her relationship with Houston “safe” and “found comfort in my silence.”

“We never talked about labels, like lesbian or gay,” she wrote. ”We just lived our lives, and I hoped it could go on that way forever.”

According to NBC News, Crawford said that she decided to finally share her story because she “felt the need to stand up for our friendship.”

“I felt an urgency to stand up and share the woman behind the incredible talent,” she wrote in her book, adding: “I wanted to lift her legacy, give her respect and share the story of who she was before the fame, and in that, to embrace our friendship,” she wrote.