Whitney Houston is most known for her marriage to Bobby Brown. However, it is well known that she briefly dated actor and comedian Eddie Murphy and even had a secret girlfriend before choosing her husband. Bobby’s sister is opening up about some secrets Whitney shared with her during their time together, including why she broke things off with Murphy.
According to her former assistant and secret lover, Robyn Crawford, Whitney was infatuated with dating Eddie Murphy in the ’80s. Even while being pursued by Bobby Brown, Robyn says that Whitney was fully focused on getting her hands on the Coming to America star. Robyn claims that Eddie was elusive, and she “lost” Houston in her pursuit of him. “She was more interested in Eddie Murphy,” Robyn remembers.
In her memoir, A Song For You, Crawford said that Houston went really hard to impress Murphy, and it really broke her heart. “One day, when Eddie was supposed to come for dinner, I caught a glimpse of Whitney,” wrote Crawford. “She was wearing a black dress and low-heeled slingbacks. For a moment, I thought, ‘Boy, I wish she was doing that for me.'”
Eddie Murphy would stand Houston up that evening and left her devasted. Eddie eventually reappeared on Whitney and Bobby Brown’s wedding day to make a last-ditch effort and the Bodyguard actress after ruining things between them. Robyn recalls him calling up the morning of the nuptials to tell Houston she was making a mistake.
According to many sources, Eddie has been housing a secret life for most of his career, much like Houston did. While Houston secretly dated Robyn Crawford and maintained a close relationship with her for the better part of her life, Murphy has been connected to a handful of men and women of trans experience. In 1997, Murphy was stopped by police after allegedly picking up a trans prostitute on Hollywood Blvd. He was pulled over at 4:45 am with Atisone Seiuli (aka Shalimar) in his Toyota Land Cruiser.
For years, it was also speculated that he was dating New Edition frontman, Johny Gill. Gill spoke out about these rumors in 2021, tracing them back to Wendy Williams. In an interview with Michael Shawn, the host apologized to Gill for jokes made about the relationship. “It was tough,” said Gill, thinking back on the rumors. “I ain’t got no problems putting a fist down nobody’s throat,” he joked. Gill says the jokes hurt his family more than him. “They only know that friends and family believe this stuff. You don’t realize when you doing something to someone like that; you forget they have family.”While Gill may have cleared his name, Eddie Murphy is still fielding rumors.
Most recently, Bobby Brown’s sister opened up, saying that Whitney left the comic after finding him talking to another man. Leolah Brown says Whitney intercepted a call between Eddie and a male lover where the guy said, “I miss you, are you still with her? You got to come home.” Whitney reportedly had him pack up his things immediately after this and sent him on his way.
Neither Eddie Murphy or Bobby Brown has responded to the accusations. Whitney Houston’s movie, “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” is now in theaters.
