Brown, who was once charged with assaulting Houston, had blamed her for his drug use and their failed marriage.
In this March 25, 2001 file photo, Bobby Brown and his then wife Whitney Houston arrive at Vanity Fair's Oscar party at Morton's in Hollywood on Sunday, March 25, 2001. (AP file photo)The death of Whitney Houston has cast a spotlight on her ex-husband, Bobby Brown, who has been vilified on websites as the central figure in her decline.
TheImproper.com claimed Brown is widely hated by close members of Houston’s family, including mother Cissy Houston. "And with good reason. Whitney’s marriage to the singer marked the beginning of her downward spiral, and they have never forgiven him."
Houston's magnificent voice was overshadowed by substance abuse and erratic behavior for more than a decade. The woman who gave an inspirational performance of "The Star Spangled Banner" during Super Bowl XXV was replaced by the bizarre diva co-starring in the 2005 reality TV show, "Being Bobby Brown."
The couple divorced in 2007 after a 14-year tumultuous union. They had a daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown.
In 2008, a financially strapped Brown sued Houston for spousal support and joint custody of their daughter, and for a time he was in arrears in support for a child from a previous marriage.
Brown has bristled at reports that he contributed to Houston's downfall.
“I never used cocaine until after I met Whitney. Before then, I had experimented with other drugs, but marijuana was my drug of choice,” Brown wrote in “Bobby Brown: The Truth, the Whole Truth and Nothing But.” "At one point in my life, I used drugs uncontrollably. I was using everything I could get my hands on, from cocaine to heroin, weed and cooked cocaine."
In the book, he claimed the marriage was doomed from the start. He said he married for the all the right reasons, while Houston, "America's Sweetheart," married him to counter a rumor she was bisexual.
But within 24 hours after Houston's death on Saturday, Brown put that all behind him.
He pulled out of a concert performance in Nashville and boarded a flight to Los Angeles to be with his daughter, People reported.
His emergence prompted a report from TMZ stating Tuesday evening that Brown was being frozen out of attending Saturday's funeral service by some of Houston's family members.
Reports of tension between Brown and his ex-wife's family about attending Houston's funeral, scheduled for Saturday, were inaccurate, a source close to Bobby Brown told ABC News.
For his part, Brown issued a statement: My daughter, Bobbi Kristina, is doing much better. We continue to provide love and support to Bobbi Kristina. She is dealing with the tragedy of her mother's death and would prefer to do it outside of the public eye. I ask again that our privacy be respected."
Brown has a checkered legal past with charges of assault against Houston, traffic violations, drug use and driving under the influence.
He last made headlines in March, reacting to a tabloid report that Bobbi Kristina Brown was photographed using cocaine. "I don't know anything about that. ... My daughter, she doesn't, she doesn't do that,"
Houston, chimed in via Twitter that the teenager was "set up" by an ex-boyfriend following "a horrible relationship that went sour."
The 48-year-old Houston died Saturday at a hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., just hours before she was set to perform at producer Clive Davis' pre-Grammy Awards bash. Officials say she was underwater and apparently unconscious when she was pulled from a bathtub.
After an autopsy Sunday, authorities said there were no indications of foul play and no obvious signs of trauma on Houston. It could be weeks, however, before the coroner's office completes toxicology tests to establish the cause of death.