Whitney Houston's close friend Robyn Crawford confirms same-sex relationship and says they were in love

Following years of speculation about the nature of Whitney Houston's close relationship with Robyn Crawford, Houston's old friend has opened up on her own terms.

In an upcoming memoir, Crawford confirmed that they had been in love for years - though the singer ended the physical part of their relationship early on in fear it would make their "journey even more difficult".

Crawford's upcoming book A Song For You: My Life with Whitney Houston will explore her romance with the diva. In extracts published by People, Crawford revealed she was Houston's teen sweetheart. They met in 1980 as summer camp counsellors in New Jersey.

She recalled that she told a then 16-year-old Houston, "I'm going to look out for you."

"We wanted to be together and that meant just us," she continued.

Shortly afterwards however, Houston soon captivated the world with her legendary voice and was propelled to new heights. Prior to her explosion onto the scene, Houston made a decision that changed the nature of their relationship.

“She said we shouldn’t be physical anymore because it would make our journey even more difficult,” Crawford explained. “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 said that Houston gave her a slate blue Bible in 1982 during the conversation. Crawford said, “I kept it safe. I found comfort in my silence.”

Houston’s family did not approve of their relationship, especially her mother Cissy Houston - a gospel singer who regularly performed with Houston early on in her career. Crawford recalled, “Whitney told me her mother said it wasn’t natural for two women to be that close but we were that close.”

Houston signed a record deal with Arista label head Clive Davis the following year in 1983, which set her on her path to stardom. Crawford remained out of the limelight and she explained, “We never talked about labels, like lesbian or gay. We just lived our lives and I hoped it could go on that way forever.”

Crawford and Houston were pictured over the years together and the singer later began dating R&B singer Bobby Brown, though Crawford revealed that Houston was initially interested in comedian Eddie Murphy. At that point, her romance with Houston had already ended though she recalled, “One day when Eddie was supposed to come for dinner, I caught a glimpse of Whitney. She was wearing a black dress and low-heeled slingbacks.”

“For a moment, I thought “Boy, I wish she was doing that for me”,” she said. “[Eddie] never showed up that night.”

Brown and Houston were married in 1992, though Crawford said Murphy actually called Houston on the day of their wedding to tell her she was "making a mistake". Houston married Brown anyway.

Brown and Houston had a daughter called Bobbi Kristina Brown in 1993 and the couple later divorced in 2007. Houston passed away in 2012 at the age of 48 and Bobbi became the sole beneficiary of her estate, though she later died of lobar pneumonia at the age of 22 years old in 2015 - three years after her mother. She was buried beside her.

Crawford said, “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.”

Seven years after Houston’s death, Crawford revealed that she had decided to release the memoir to “lift [Houston’s] legacy”. She said, “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.”

According to People, Crawford is now a family fitness trainer and lives with her partner Lisa Hintlemann - a talent agency executive. They have two adopted children.

A Song for You: My Life With Whitney Houston is set to be released on November 12 and can be pre-ordered online.