**Cissy Houston’s Deepest Regret About Whitney Houston**

Cissy Houston, the mother of legendary singer Whitney Houston, spent her final years grappling with the choices she made that shaped her daughter’s life—and ultimately contributed to her tragic de@th.

Before her passing in 2024, Cissy revealed her deepest regret: her rejection of Whitney’s romantic relationship with her best friend, Robyn Crawford, and the devastating consequences that decision had on Whitney’s happiness and well-being.

Whitney and Robyn met in 1980 and quickly formed a deep bond. Robyn was Whitney’s emotional anchor, fiercely protective of her well-being and a source of unconditional love. However, their romantic relationship ended in 1983 when Whitney walked into Robyn’s house and broke things off, citing her mother’s disapproval and fear of public backlash.

Whitney told Robyn, “I don’t think we should be physical because where we’re going, if people found out about it, they would use it against us.” Cissy’s strict religious beliefs and rejection of homosexuality forced Whitney to make this heartbreaking choice.

For decades, Cissy dismissed rumors about Whitney and Robyn’s relationship as tabloid gossip, but Robyn’s public confirmation in her 2019 memoir, *A Song for You: My Life with Whitney Houston*, revealed the truth. Robyn described their bond as deeply intimate, both emotionally and physically.

The revelation hit Cissy like a physical blow, forcing her to confront the consequences of her actions. At 86 years old, sitting in the Newark home where she raised Whitney, Cissy finally understood what she had done in 1983 when she told her daughter that her relationship with Robyn was “not natural” and needed to end.

Whitney’s decision to end her relationship with Robyn marked the beginning of a life filled with emotional emptiness. Even Bobby Brown, Whitney’s ex-husband, later admitted that Robyn’s absence had a profound impact on her.

He believed Whitney would still be alive if Robyn had remained close to her. Instead, Whitney’s marriage to Bobby became a toxic environment filled with infidelity, drug abuse, and violence. The relationship, which was partly a strategic move to silence rumors about Whitney’s sexuality, only deepened her struggles.

Cissy’s regret grew as she learned more about Whitney’s life. Whitney’s drug use, which many blamed on Bobby, had actually started years earlier as a way to cope with the pressure of living a lie.

The public image Whitney maintained—rooted in her family’s and the industry’s demand for heterosexuality—forced her to fragment her true self. Whitney’s faith, while genuine, became both an authentic expression and a performance used to prove her worthiness to audiences who wouldn’t accept her full identity.

In her final years, Cissy admitted that her rejection of Robyn wasn’t just a personal mistake—it sent a message to the world that Whitney’s authentic self was unacceptable.

This rejection allowed the music industry to exploit Whitney, treating her as a commodity rather than a human being. By choosing public respectability over unconditional love, Cissy inadvertently created the conditions that led to Whitney’s isolation, addiction, and eventual death.

Cissy’s deepest regret was simple yet devastating: she had failed to love her daughter unconditionally. Whitney asked for that love when she gave Robyn a Bible and said, “Love me unconditionally.”

But Cissy’s love came with conditions, rooted in fear and judgment. In the end, that choice cost Whitney her happiness, her health, and her life.

Cissy spent her final years haunted by the realization that she had chosen what the world wanted over what her daughter needed—and that choice had tragic consequences.