Today, August 9, Whitney Houston would have blown out 61 candles. A life that was not easy, indeed dramatic. Just like her death, tragic and premature. She was only 48 years old. It was February 11, 2012, when her lifeless body underwater was found in the bathtub by her assistant. Whitney was staying in a suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel (California) in view of her participation in the Grammy Awards. The help of the police and paramedics were useless. After 10 minutes of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, she was declared dead. The cause was probably a cardiac collapse caused by the abuse of drugs, medications and alcohol (although later it was said that she drowned accidentally, however due to excessive drug intake combined with atherosclerosis). Whitney left too soon, oppressed by a system that did not allow her to live peacefully. And from her family, the one that should have protected her and instead wanted to pigeonhole her into stereotypes and “this is how it’s done”, “this is not done”, “this should be hidden”. Whitney was a free spirit, whose wings were clipped since she was little.

Abuse at 9, Lesbian Story Cut Short by Family Pressure

When she was nine and her half-brother Gary Garland was seven, they were both allegedly sexually abused by their cousin. Gary himself claimed this in the documentary ‘Whitney’ and the fact was partially confirmed when Whitney’s assistant said he had collected a confidence from the star who claimed to have been “molested at a young age”.

As a teenager, he became romantically involved with Robyn Crawford. Despite having denied it several times, many knew that there was actually a great love story between the two that Whitney was forced to interrupt due to fears of repercussions on her career and pressure from her family. Robyn, in fact, remained simply as her artistic assistant. Crawford herself will tell it only in 2019, in the book “A song for you: my life with Whitney Houston”. “She told me that we should no longer have physical relations because this would make our journey even more difficult. She thought that if people found out about our story, they would use it against us – the words of Whitney’s assistant and “special friend” -. For her mother, it wasn’t natural for two women to be so close, but we were”. It will be the mother herself (the singer Cissy Houston) to confirm that she would not have liked a homosexual relationship with her daughter: “It would have bothered me, I would not have accepted it”, the woman’s words to Oprah Winfrey.

“Whitney Houston Was Bisexual”: The Truth in a Documentary

In 2002, in an interview with ABC, Whitney said that she was “her own demon. No one makes me do anything I don’t want to do.” But perhaps this was, more than anything, her desire. Probably to silence these rumors, perhaps due to the numerous and exhausting pressures, in ’92 Whitney married her colleague Bobby Brown. After the wedding, Robyn worked with Whitney for another 8 years. Then, as former bodyguard David Roberts recounted in the documentary “Whitney: Can I Be Me” (which is recommended), she and Bobby clashed several times over their love for the singer. This, jealousy and one episode in particular determined the end of the relationship between Whitney and Robyn. In fact, after finding some burnt spoons in her house, the latter invited Whitney to get help to overcome her (already gripping) drug addiction. She said no. At that point Robyn, also tired of Whitney’s constant last-minute cancellations of interviews and events, decided to resign. Today Robyn, who lives with her new partner and two children, still remembers her fondly: “I had many wonderful and exciting adventures and have fond and caring memories. She was a wonderful friend.”

Daughter Bobbi, dead like her mother

The marriage to Bobby, instead of giving Whitney new lifeblood (as only the strength of love could), gave her the push to fall even lower. From their love (which apparently had very little genuine) was born Bobbi Kristina Brown. Born in 1993, she died in 2015, at just 22 years old. If her young age wasn’t enough, to make everything even more tragic and disturbing, it was the cause of the girl’s death. She too, just like her mother, was found in a bathtub in the house in Georgia that she shared with her ex Nick Gordon. The 22-year-old – who had 6 other half-siblings on her father’s side – died after a long hospitalization. Traces of: drugs, alcohol, marijuana, morphine and a substance ‘similar to cocaine’ were found in her body.

Bobbi Kristina Brown, Whitney Houston’s Daughter, Has Died

A sad parable – that of Bobbi Kristina – that is very reminiscent of Whitney’s last years, the causes of which can be found in the first choices, in the pressures, in the space (intended in a broad sense) in which Whitney lived. And in which her memory and the numerous masterpieces that she left us and that collect millions (but also billions) of streams on the platforms still live today. Her music, eternal, will continue to warm the hearts of fans, of those who still listen to her today, of those who want to party but also of those who feel alone, as she felt so many times. So happy birthday Whitney. Happy birthday to the best voice of all time. Happy birthday wherever you are.