Whitney Houston's ex-husband Bobby Brown denies leading the deceased pop singer down the path of substance abuse in an upcoming "Today" interview with Matt Lauer, and claims that he didn't have a drug problem before meeting Houston.
"It makes me feel terrible," Brown tells Lauer, referring to the perception that he caused Houston's drug troubles and perhaps contributed to her death. "But you know, I know differently. I think if anyone ever knew us, if anybody ever spent time around us instead of time lookin' through the bubble — they would know how we felt about each other. They would know how happy we were together."
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The singer adds that he didn't get heavily involved in drugs prior to their relationship.
"I didn't get high before I met Whitney … I — I — I smoked weed, I drank the beer, but no, I wasn't the one that got Whitney on drugs at all," he tells Lauer.
Houston, who had a longstanding struggle with drug abuse, and Brown were married from 1992 to 2007, and had one daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, together. Houston died at age 48 in the bathtub of her hotel suite on Feb. 11 at the age of 48. A toxicology test found cocaine in Houston's system.
Brown said he was "hurt" to hear that Houston was using at the time of her death.
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"I was hurt. I was hurt… because, you know, me being off of narcotics for the last seven years — I felt that she was, you know, I didn’t know she was struggling with it still," Brown tells Lauer. "But at the same time, you know — listen, it's a hard fight. It's a hard fight to, you know, maintain sobriety that way."
Brown also reveals that he saw Houston about a week before her death, while dining with their daughter. According to Brown, she looked "really well" and had a "glow about her."
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"She had this — this glow about her that was just, you know, incredible," Brown tells Lauer. "You know, and I'm — I'm saying to myself, you know, 'She must be — she must be doing really well," because she looked really well."
Brown's "Today" interview airs on NBC on Wednesday, May 2 and Thursday, May 3.