From A Song for You book by Robyn Crawford :
Whitney’s twenty-sixth birthday was fast approaching, and she got to work planning a big celebration at her house in August 1989. ...Lots of people showed up in the backyard to enjoy music, food, and drinks. Eddie made an entrance with a posse of six dudes but didn’t stay longer than twenty minutes.
Much to my surprise, after the party, Whitney definitely still had her eyes and heart set on Eddie;. She had managed in that brief encounter to invite Eddie to come back over for dinner the next week.
On the surface, I could see why she was into Eddie. In simple terms, he was Eddie Murphy and she was Whitney Houston. He was a star like her, and he was wealthy like her, and Whitney was smitten. But based on his hot-and-cold behavior, I didn’t see any indication of his thinking of her in the same way.
On the day Eddie was supposed to come to the house for dinner, I stopped by the kitchen to grab a plate to take with me, and just before leaving the house, I caught a glimpse of Whitney. She was wearing a classic black dress to the knee and low-heeled sling-backs. She was radiant and beautiful as she circled the intimate table set for two.
The next day, I asked Silvia how the dinner went. Eddie had never shown. He didn’t even call. Whitney stayed in her room for the next two days. The house was quiet. You could feel the sadness throughout. I wanted to see her and tell her, “That guy doesn’t deserve you.”
In spite of this, Whit chose to give Eddie another go. I don’t know who called whom, but next thing I knew, she was heading over to his posh house in the gated section of Englewood, New Jersey. This push-and-pull went on for months, and when Eddie’s birthday came around in April, Nip decided to surprise him by showing up at his house with a cake, wearing nothing but lingerie and a fur coat, per Aunt Bae’s advice. After she waited fifteen minutes outside his gate, one of Eddie’s boys came out and told Whitney that she couldn’t come in because Eddie was “busy.”
Nippy didn’t return home that day, or the next. When she finally did, she was a wreck, shaking and barely able to stand up. Silvia and I took her to her room, and I held her while Sil ran a bath. Whitney was crying and asking, “Why don’t they like me?” She’d been on a drug binge and hadn’t slept or eaten
The next time we saw Eddie was on the Paramount lot, where he was filming. Once again, she was chasing Mr. Ed. I kept my distance. Then I heard Whitney shout, “Hey, Robyn! We’re going bowling. Wanna go?”
I replied, “No, thanks.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Eddie said. “You don’t like bowling?”
To which I said, “Sure, I like bowling. I just don’t want to go bowling with you.”
Silvia and I believe that Eddie did a number on Nip’s self-worth. He cracked jokes about her, made fun of her weave. He would say, “Whitney and I are just friends.” I don’t know what they were, but friends they definitely were not.
Whit really wanted the thing with Eddie to work, and I don’t know what he did or didn’t promise her behind closed doors. What I do know is that he gave Whitney a diamond ring that looked an awful lot like an engagement ring, but he never showed any intention of bringing her to a church.
