10...
An imperfect 10: Whitney and Bobby, a decade later
By Rene E Graham, Globe Staff, 7/16/2002
On Thursday, Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown will celebrate their - gasp! - 10th wedding
anniversary.
Who'd a thunk it? Let's face it: When Whitney, then America's sugary R&B sweetheart,
and Bobby, Boston's mercurial new-jack swinger, got hitched at her New Jersey mansion on
July 18, 1992, few imagined their marriage would last 10 minutes, let alone 10 years. This
seemed the most unlikely, even absurd celebrity coupling since Ethel Merman became Mrs.
Ernest Borgnine in 1964. That misbegotten marriage lasted about a month, and no one
expected much more from the union of Whitney and Bobby.
I certainly didn't. Ten years ago, I wrote ''Houston's gown, we've been told, took six
months to complete. We'll let you know if the marriage lasts that long.'' Even though
Whitney and Bobby had been dating for three years, some opined aloud that their marriage
was little more than a business transaction and publicity stunt. For Whitney, it was
viewed as the singer's last, best attempt to quell deathless rumors about her alleged
lesbianism.
And for Bobby, it was a positive boost to a career that had slipped since his heady days
when he enjoyed major success first as a member of New Edition, then as a solo artist with
such hits as ''My Prerogative'' and ''Don't Be Cruel'' in the late 1980s. Their marriage
was also tagged as an antidote to Bobby's reputation as a hell-raiser. He'd fathered three
children by two women, and he always seemed to be in some dust-up with the authorities.
Yet Whitney and Bobby, who have a daughter, Bobbi Christina, have outlasted the
snakebitten trifecta of Jennifer Lopez and her first husband, hunky waiter-model Ojani
Noa; J. Lo and P. Diddy, hip-hop mogul and lovesick fool; and Jennifer and her backup
dancer/second husband, Mr. Jennifer Lopez, otherwise known as Cris Judd.
Of course, the Browns - now there's a ''reality'' TV show I'd like to see - have also
inspired a two-hour ''E! True Hollywood Story'' episode and enough tabloid stories to lap
the world twice. Marriage didn't curb his wild ways; instead Bobby, now 33, seemed to get
in even more trouble. Then again, with his singing career all dried up, he had to do
something to fill his days. He cracked up cars (usually Whitney's), punched out people in
clubs, drifted in and out of rehab for various substances, and, in 2000, spent time in a
Florida prison on a probation violation. Last month, he was briefly hospitalized for an
undisclosed infection.
Not to be outdone, Whitney, now 38, was busted that same year for marijuana possession
while boarding a flight in Hawaii (after pleading no contest, she abided by court-ordered
obligations, and the case was dismissed). Weeks later, she was reportedly booted from
performing at the Academy Awards - Whitney claims she was sick, but organizers may have
been sick of Whitney - prompting a million ''Houston, we have a problem'' headlines.
Rumors were rampant that an out-of-control Whitney was vexed with her own drug problems.
A low point came last September, when a skeletal Whitney appeared at the first of Michael
Jackson's two self-tribute concerts at Madison Square Garden. So frightening was her frail
appearance that there were soon reports that Whitney was dead. Her publicist finally
issued a statement declaring Whitney's health ''perfectly fine.''
Still, one of the couple's strangest moments may have been their most revealing. In
picking up her 1999 Grammy for best female R&B vocal performance in February 2000, she
saluted her husband: ''Honey, this one's for you, the original R&B king. I love you.''
While calling Bobby ''the original R&B king'' sounded historically wrong in every
possible way, the scene was also oddly touching. It was clear: Whitney just can't help
loving that man.
When she told Bobby ''I love you,'' it was tantamount to a middle finger aimed at the rest
of the world: ''It doesn't matter what any of you think, it doesn't matter what the
headlines say. Only we understand what we have.''
Whatever it is, it's allowed Mr. and Mrs. Brown to sustain storms both public and private,
both real and imagined. If theirs isn't quite the greatest love of all, it's been an
enduring one, outrunning Tom and Nicole, Anne and Ellen, and every shrill story predicting
divorce, death, and devastation. And as off-key as they can sometimes be, Whitney and
Bobby, 10 years and counting, are still a duo with a song worth singing.
This story ran on page E1 of the Boston Globe on 7/16/2002.
© Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.
NEWSFILE: 16 JULY 2002
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