There’s one thing Yolonda Ross, the actress who plays the role of Whitney Houston’s rumored lesbian lover in the upcoming Lifetime movie, knows for sure about Whitney and her gal pal, Robyn. “They were two people that deeply loved, cared for and respected one another,” she says. “Theirs could have been more than a friendship and if so, it’s really unfortunate if others got in the way of it or compromised it.”

Directed by Golden Globe® Award winner and Academy Award® nominee Angela Bassett, Lifetime-TV’s Whitney Houston will focus on the singer’s rise to stardom and her stormy relationship with Bobby Brown. It’s set to air January 17.

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To prepare for the role, Ross feverishly studied Houston and her longtime assistant Robyn Crawford. According to reports, the two met at 16 during a summer job in East Orange, N.J. and soon began an alleged romantic relationship. They broke up when Houston married Brown in 1992.

“Robyn seems to be a straight-up, very grounded person,” continues Ross. “Somebody who, no matter what the situation, has got your back or is gonna set you straight. She offered security to Whitney and uncompromised companionship.”

The film is the first-ever produced about the life and death of Whitney Houston. Ross predicts it will be a piece of history. “Like The Jackson’s movie, The Temptations and The Five Heartbeats: three movies every black person in America has seen at least once in their life. This will be one of those, but reach an even wider audience due to today’s global media.”