They say fame comes with a high price and few in the entertainment industry know more about the trappings and pains of that world than Bobby Brown. The R&B legend has endured his fair share of tragedies, but none have been more tragic or haunting than the death of his famous ex-wife, Whitney Houston, followed years later by the death of their young daughter, Bobbi Kristina, last year. Since Bobbi Kristina’s death, Brown has mainly stayed out of the public eye and focused instead on dealing with the tragedies. Now, reports have revealed that Brown is finally giving a candid interview with “20/20” about both losses next week.
As fans remember, Houston died Feb. 11, 2012, at the age of 48 after she was found submerged and unconscious in her hotel bathtub. Although it was initially unclear what exactly caused Houston’s death, autopsy and toxicology reports revealed that Houston’s death was regarded as an “accident” and that she died from drowning and the “effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use.”
The loss of Houston not only hung a dark cloud over the music industry, but it also had a profoundly traumatic effect on the Brown and Houston families, especially Bobbi Kristina. Reports of Bobbi Kristina’s alleged drug used plagued her throughout her teen and young adult years and on Jan. 31, 2015, Bobbi Kristina was found submerged and unconscious in the bathtub of her Georgia home.
Bobbi Kristina was placed in a medically induced coma and was on life support for six months before dying on July 25, 2015, at the age of 22. According to the autopsy report, Bobbi Kristina died from a multitude of causes, including lobar pneumonia due to “Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, delayed effects” and “Immersion of face in water complicating mixed drug intoxication.” The coroner also noted that Bobbi Kristina didn’t die of natural causes, but it was unclear if she died accidentally or via intentional forces.
After suffering such tragic losses, Brown, understandably, decided to keep his time in the limelight to a minimum. But a preview of his upcoming interview shows Brown discussing everything about his time with Houston, including her drug use and their financial problems.
“I came into the marriage with money, left the marriage with nothing,” Brown says in one scene.
In another scene, Brown opens up about the devastating deaths and says, “The same thing that happened to my daughter is what happened to Whitney.”
Later in the preview, Brown sobs as he explains how difficult it was accepting that his daughter wasn’t going to wake up from her coma.
“The hardest thing I had to do in my life was tell my daughter to let go,” Brown says, before proclaiming at the end of the clip, “I thank God I’m still here.”
Brown’s “20/20” interview airs Tuesday, June 7, at 10 p.m. on ABC.
