The unlikely relationship between Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown may have confused some, but for a time, the couple were happy and in love. There were a few bizarre antics that played out for reality television cameras on Being Bobby Brown, but according to Whitney's best friend Robyn Crawford, there was much more unfolding behind the scenes.
In Robyn's memoir A Song For You: My Life With Whitney Houston that was released on Tuesday, Robyn detailed the alleged physical abuse Bobby exacted on his wife. "A few days into the honeymoon [in 1992], I heard talk around the office about an altercation between Whitney and Bobby," Robyn wrote in her book. "Someone on the yacht had placed a call to [Whitney’s father] John Houston telling him that something had gone down, and when the lovebirds returned, Whitney had a visible scar on the side of her face. The cut was at least three inches, running in a straight line from the top of her cheek down to the jaw."
Robyn said Whitney offered up this excuse: "We had a disagreement. I threw a glass, the glass hit the wall, shattered, and that’s how the cut happened. Couples argue all the time and it’s never a big deal. Except when it’s me." The singer's friend thought Whitney was lying. "I did not believe her because it was a straight line and it took forever for Roxanna Floyd, who was her makeup artist at that time, to cover it up,” Crawford said. "And that scar stayed with her. So no, I didn’t believe that.”
While Whitney was married to Bobby, Robyn said the singer became isolated. "I saw and heard him speak to her in ways that were demeaning and [talked] down to her. That [would] not make me feel good if someone was talking to me that way," Robyn wrote. She also shared a story of Bobby spitting in Whitney's face and cursing at her at a luxury hotel.
Meanwhile, over the years Bobby has adamantly denied that he was violent with Whitney, however, he did share in his 2016 memoir Every Little Step and in an interview with Robin Robins that there were times when he physically assaulted the singer.