Bobbi Kristina's Life After Whitney Houston's Death

From heartbroken to hospitalized, Bobbi Kristina's life since her mom's death.

ByABC News
July 27, 2015, 6:15 AM

— -- Perhaps no one had been more affected by Whitney Houston's death than her daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown.

The only child of Houston and singer Bobby Brown, Bobbi Kristina was with her mother in Los Angeles on Feb. 11, 2012, when the singer was found dead in a hotel bathtub.

After police reportedly turned her away from seeing her mother in the hotel room, the then 18-year-old had to be taken by ambulance to the hospital, where she was treated for stress and anxiety.

"We continue to provide love and support to Bobbi-Kristina," her father told ABC News at the time, days after rushing to his daughter's side. "She is dealing with the tragedy of her mother's death and would prefer to do it outside of the public eye."

Unfortunately, that was not to happen. The public watched as Brown struggled to find her way after the loss of her mother. Now, just three and a half years after Houston's sudden death, her daughter has died at the age of 22, months after being found unresponsive in her Georgia home.

The world first came to know Bobbi-Kris, as her family referred to her, through Houston, who often spoke about the blessing of her only child. She would take Brown with her on tour, even pulling her daughter up on stage to sing along with her. But Brown was also reportedly exposed to the tumultuous relationship between her parents and her mother's struggle with addiction.

On the family's reality-TV show, "Being Bobby Brown," it was Bobbi Kristina Brown who often acted more like the parent in the often-erratic relationship between her mother and father. Sources close to the family told ABC News after Houston's death that the singer's well-known battles with addiction were also a heavy burden for her daughter to bear.

After Houston's death, the world watched as Brown sat next to her grandmother, gospel legend Cissy Houston, during a four-hour "home going" ceremony at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, N.J., where some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry, including Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys and Kevin Costner, paid tribute to Houston.

The funeral ended with the unforgettable image of Brown walking behind her grandmother, as she led Houston's casket out of the church.

A month later, Brown gave her first interview since Houston's death to Oprah Winfrey.

"I'm doing as good as I possibly can. Just trying to keep going," she told Winfrey.

Appearing poised and professional beyond her then 19 years, Brown talked about how her mother continued to be a presence in her life.

"I can hear her voice and her spirit talking to me telling me, keep moving, baby. I can always feel her with me. She humbles me. I remember what she told me, I remember what she taught me. ... She was a sister, a comforter. The spirit that she had -- no matter where she was ... she touched everyone," she said.

She also revealed fairly extensive plans to follow in her parent's footsteps.

"We are going to do the singing thing, the acting thing, the dancing thing. It's a lot of pressure but she prepared me for it," she said.

The previous fall, Brown had posted a video on social media of her singing a capella Adele's "Someone Like You." Mother and daughter had also begun working together on songs in the recording studio, when Houston died suddenly.

While the world waited to find out if Brown had inherited her mother's musical legacy, Brown inherited her mother's entire estate, worth an estimated $115 million. Houston named Brown her sole heir and set up a trust to dole out money to her daughter at ages 21, 25 and 30.

She was also growing closer to Nick Gordon, then 22, Houston's so-called adopted son, who had come to live with Houston and Brown as a young boy.

"We're just close -- just going through her mom's passing and grieving together," Gordon told ABC News exclusively in March 2012, after reports surfaced that they were dating.

But their actions continued to suggest otherwise and even caused concern among family members when the pair were involved in in a car crash later that year and Gordon tweeted a photo of himself driving while brandishing a handgun.

Gordon joined Brown and the Houstons on the Lifetime reality series "The Houstons: On Our Own," and the pair continued to keep people guessing about the status of their relationship.

By July of last year, Brown was ready to clear up a few things about her relationship to Gordon, starting with confirming that they were indeed engaged.

"Let me clear up something, we aren’t even real brother and sister nor is he my adoptive brother," she wrote on Facebook. "People need to seriously stop judging my relationship. Pretty sure it's my own decision who I want to be with."

She added that her late mother actually predicted the two would start dating and was completely fine with it.

In January 2014, she tweeted: "@nickdgordon! #HappilyMarried• SO#Inlove• if you didn't get it the first time that is," Brown, then 20, captioned a picture of her hand on top of her man's hand, both sporting rings on that special finger.

However, Christopher Brown of Brown & Rosen LLC, a lawyer for Bobby Brown, said in a statement days later that "to correct earlier reports, Bobbi Kristina is not and has never been married to Nick Gordon.”

Earlier last year, Brown was making headlines for appearing skinny.

She quickly shot back on Twitter, "I am my mothers child ! Have you ever heard of a #fastmetabolism ? Lol, it’s incredible how the world will judge you 4ANY&EVERYthing"

Later that month, she told her followers to expect to hear her music soon, implying that she had inherited her mother's talent.

"Think about it.. She had 1babygirl, lungs and a GORGEOUS unforgettable voice .. Who do you think ONLY has HER vocal chords.. ?" she posted on Twitter.

Asked what she sounds like, Brown responded, "It's VERY loud and range OUT OF THIS WORLD," with a hashtag "Hear it soon."

That was last March. In January, Brown was still vowing to get her music career going.

"Let's start this career up&&moving OUT to TO YOU ALLLL quick shall we !?!???!" she tweeted.

Days later, Gordon and a friend found her face down in a bathtub in an Atlanta-area home, authorities told ABC News. Police said they responded and performed lifesaving measures until rescue personnel arrived, rushing Brown to the hospital.

Brown had been at a rehab facility since March after being cared for previously at Emory University Hospital. Then on June 24, it was announced that she had been moved to hospice.

"Despite the great medical care at numerous facilities, Bobbi Kristina Brown's condition has continued to deteriorate," her aunt Pat Houston told ABC News in a statement that day. "As of today, she has been moved into hospice care. We thank everyone for their support and prayers. She is in God's hands now."