Former British police officer David Roberts, who was also a former bodyguard for the late and legendary songstress Whitney Houston, admits he was once tempted to “give up everything” for her. The 1992 film ‘The Bodyguard,’ which stars Houston, is said to be loosely based on the duo’s real-life dynamic.
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On Friday (December 27), the Daily Mail published a new interview with David Roberts, 73, who opened up about his time protecting the iconic Whitney Houston, who died in 2012 at the age of 48. Roberts, who served as Houston’s bodyguard from 1988 to 1995, spoke with the outlet ahead of the release of his memoir, ‘Protecting Whitney.’ The memoir is due to be released in January 2025.
Roberts, who met Whitney Houston when she was 23, has insisted that her safety was always his utmost priority when he served as her bodyguard; however, he recalled one evening when the icon ‘affectionately laid her head on his shoulder,’ leaving him tempted to “give up everything” and change the dynamic of their professional relationship.
Speaking with the outlet, Roberts noted that he knew to maintain his boundaries, explaining, “If you cross that line, you lose your objectivity, and that makes it dangerous for the person you’re protecting. That was why ‘Frank Farmer’ [Kevin Costner‘s character in ‘The Bodyguard‘] and ‘Rachel Marron’ [Houston’s character] couldn’t be together — he crossed the line and that was the end of him in the capacity of what he was employed to do.”
Roberts added, “Much of what was contained in the film, she and I actually lived through. Little details such as Rachel holding onto the back of his shirt to escape crowds of fans. That was how we did it.” Despite apparent feelings of wanting to be more than employee and employer, Roberts confesses there was no real-life romance between him and Houston.
Additionally, Roberts, who was born in Wales and now lives in Florida, also revealed that he still has a note that Whitney Houston wrote the bodyguard more than 35 years ago. He said, “It was [on] a Post-it note and she pushed it under the door of my room at the Regency Hotel in Hong Kong in 1988. I still have it — it’s rather faded with time but still precious to me.”
Recalling his time serving as a bodyguard to Whitney Houston, David Roberts said he experienced a number of serious security threats during his time protecting her. He said, “They were mostly [threats from] men who felt let down, embittered and cheated. It was an ongoing program of constantly checking where these lunatics with delusions and poisoned minds might be. I had to get it right 100 percent of the time — some idiot determined to get hold of her only has to be successful once.”
He continued, “I put myself between her and those threats. ‘You want to get to Whitney? Go ahead and try, see what happens.’” Roberts also shared that there was a “thin line” between the seemingly harmless fans and dangerous people with “crazed” obsessions. He said, “If you let any fan, however seemingly innocent, get through your guard, they could turn out to be a killer. The golden rule is never lose sight of your principal and never let anyone get close to her.”
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