Paul Hawthorne/Getty Images Robyn Crawford at the Sony Screening Room, April 12, 2004 in New York City.
Robyn Crawford is a notable person in the life of Whitney Houston. She was both personally and professionally involved with the famous singer. Who is Robyn Crawford, and what has she been up to lately? Here’s everything you need to know.
Crawford Says Friendship With Houston Was ‘Intimate on All Levels’
Paul Hawthorne/Getty ImagesRobyn Crawford at the Sony Screening Room, April 12, 2004 in New York City.
Robyn Crawford is an “out” lesbian, who wrote a book about her close association with Whitney Houston. The two were friends, and then ultimately became lovers for a short period before Houston signed her first record deal. After that, Crawford remained a friend and assistant to Houston.
In a 2012 piece for Esquire, Crawford clarified her professional role with Whitney to Esquire, noting its prestige: “I was her assistant and then her executive assistant and then her creative director. I was her point person for the day-to-day. I traveled all around the world first-class and anyone who ever worked for her will tell you her checks never bounced.”
In an exclusive interview with Essence’s Yes, Girl! podcast, Crawford told reporters: “Ours was a bond that deepened over time, and the friendship never stopped growing.”
However, due to pressures of the time, Whitney Houston did not feel comfortable pursuing a recording career while in a relationship with a woman. The New York Times notes that rumors about Houston’s sexuality “dogged Houston throughout her career”.
Crawford Wrote a Book About Her Time With Whitney in 2019
These days, Crawford is a writer, an arguably most famous for her memoir about her relationship with Whitney Houston. The book, A Song for You, features a passage that describes the first kiss between Crawford and Houston as “long, and warm like honey.”
However, it took Crawford many years before she was comfortable speaking about her past. A profile from NJ.com notes Crawford “refused to appear in documentaries about Houston that came out in 2017 and 2018.”
What Crawford Has Been Up to Lately in NJ
Enjoyed meeting & hearing #RobynCrawford tonight on her life with #WhitneyHouston. 🙏🏾✨
Thanks, @msmichellemeow & @cwclub, for hosting a great event in #SanFrancisco tonight!
Crawford’s book came out in 2019, and she even hosted a book signing at her alma mater, Monmouth University, that same year. In 2019, People described Crawford as “a family fitness trainer [who] lives quietly with her partner, talent agency executive Lisa Hintlemann, with whom she adopted two children.” Crawford was also close with Houston’s family, with Yahoo! noting that Crawford was in attendance at Bobbi Kristina’s first birthday party.
In 2020, Crawford spoke with NPR about her relationship with Whitney Houston, and confirmed the two met during the “summer of ’80”.
Her author profile at Penguin Random House notes that she is “now focused on mental and physical wellness and writing. She lives in New Jersey with her wife and children.”
Crawford’s Relationship With Houston Began in Their Teen Years
#WhitneyHouston & #RobynCrawford in the Vatican, Europe.
The BBC reports that the relationship between the two young women ended when Houston signed a deal with a record company. In a conversation with Lena Waithe for O Magazine, the publication noted that “Each half of the pair wrote their vow to stop being physical in the pages of a blue Bible Houston gave to Crawford.” NBC News confirms this conversation would have taken place just before Houston signed with Arista Records in 1982.
The Guardian reported that Crawford found it hard to see Houston after their relationship ended, particularly when Houston started dating men. “The physical part of our friendship was no longer, but the intimacy… our friendship was intimate on all levels, that’s how deep it was,” Crawford said. “It didn’t feel like she was cheating on me – it felt more like she was leaving me out.”
The same Guardian piece notes “Houston and Crawford effectively functioned as a couple” during those early years, even sharing a bed at times.
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