Robyn Crawford and Whitney Houston denied a gay relationship since 1987

Whitney Houston’s life and turmoil have been in the headlines since the singer was found dead on February 11 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

Many looked back on her years of drugs use and blamed ex-husband Bobby Brown for her notorious downward spiral.

However, rumors are now surfacing that Whitney Houston’s break-up with lesbian partner Robyn Crawford caused her emotional descent.

In a 1987 interview with Time magazine, Whitney Houston, then 23, said that Robyn Crawford was the “sister [she] never had.”

Both Whitney Houston and Robyn Crawford denied being romantically involved.

“My mother taught me that when you stand in the truth and someone tells a lie about you, don’t fight it. I’m not with any man. I’m not in love. People see Robyn with me, and they draw their own conclusions. Anyway, whose business is it if you’re gay or like dogs? What others do shouldn’t matter. Let people talk. It doesn’t bother me because I know I’m not gay. I don’t care,” said Whitney Houston.

Robyn Crawford told Time magazine: “I tell my family, <<You can hear anything on the streets, but if you don’t hear it from me, it’s not true.>>”

However, British gay rights activist Peter Tatchell reports it differently. He described meeting Whitney Houston and Robyn Crawford, whom he refers to as the singer’s female partner, at the Reach Out & Touch HIV vigil in London in 1991. Whitney Houston attended the event to advocate the welfare and human rights of those living with HIV.

“When I met them, it was obvious they were madly in love. Their intimacy and affection was so sweet and romantic,” said Peter Tatchell.

“They held hands in the back of the car like teenage sweethearts. Clearly more than just friends, they were a gorgeous couple and so happy together. To see their love was infectious and uplifting.

“Whitney was happiest and at the peak of her career when she was with Robyn. Sadly, she suffered family and church pressure to end her greatest love of all.”

According to Peter Tatchell, Whitney Houston was afraid of the backlash she would face from her family – who raised her in the church -and fans if she made her relationship with Robyn Crawford public.

Whitney Houston then married Bobby Brown in 1992, just one year after the HIV vigil.

Whitney Houston met Robyn Crawford when she was 16-years-old at a summer job in East Orange, N.J. The two soon became inseparable. Robyn Crawford dropped out of Monmouth College to work for Whitney Houston.