Nationwide — Whitney Houston’s former bodyguard, David Roberts, recently revealed a moment when he was tempted to “give up everything” for his feelings with the singer. In an interview with the Daily Mail, Roberts, who is now 73 years old, reflected on his years protecting Houston.
“If you cross that line, you lose your objectivity, and that makes it dangerous for the person you’re protecting,” he said, adding, “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 also mentioned how moments from his time with Houston influenced scenes in the movie.
“Much of what was contained in the film, she and I actually lived through,” Roberts said. “Little details such as Rachel holding onto the back of his shirt to escape crowds of fans. That was how we did it.”
While Roberts initially had doubts about working with Houston, he quickly grew to admire her. He described Houston as “gracious, shy, introverted, well-mannered, and one of the most beautiful women I had ever met.”
Roberts also revealed that Houston, who died in 2012, was unaware of the “level of threats she was exposed to.” He said, “She had no reason to know. That’s why she employed me. I was there to absorb them and deal with all the threats.”
Roberts, who now lives in Florida, still treasures a faded Post-it note Houston left for him in 1988, saying, “it’s rather faded with time but still precious to me.” He is set to release his memoir, Protecting Whitney, in January 2025.
Meanwhile, according to BET, the idea for The Bodyguard originated in the 1970s, originally written for actor Steve McQueen. After a failed pitch involving Ryan O’Neal and Diana Ross, the project later evolved into the iconic 1992 film starring Houston and Costner.