“There’s a madness that happens to people who get that famous,” said Whitney’s long-time manager, Jerry Griffith. “You’re spinning around, and there’s nothing to hold onto.”
Whitney Houston tried holding onto many things throughout her life. She held onto her husband, Bobby Brown, who had abused and humiliated her over the years, likely out of jealousy. She held onto her faith, which led her on a seemingly odd journey to the deserts of Israel. And she held onto her mom, who, despite being a supportive figure, made her life a bit difficult.
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When Whitney started acting strange, the press assumed she had simply gone cuckoo like any washed-up celebrity. But after she passed away, the skeletons in her closet came out, one by one. Her long-time friend, Robyn Crawford, revealed a forbidden love that had flourished once between the two women. And her brother, Gary, revealed a dark family secret that threatened to ruin them all. But arguably, the most tragic part of Whitney’s story was how her troubling habits affected her daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown.