The six-time Grammy award winner’s tumultuous relationship with Bobby Brown, her notorious party lifestyle and family handouts contributed towards her financial downfall.

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Here’s how she lost the millions …

Whitney Houston owed millions over her property

In 2007, Houston filed an income and expense declaration as part of her divorce proceedings from Brown. Radar Online reported the documents revealed she had a mere US$40,000 in cash and US$225,000 in stocks. The document also showed the extent of her debt.

Her real estate included property in New Jersey, which was worth US$6.5 million, but she still owed US$3.2 million on the estate. At the time, she also had a town house in Atlanta, Georgia worth US$1.2 million, but also owed US$1 million on it.

It was the first time the true state of her financials were revealed and showed how her millions had dwindled.

She threw lavish parties for friends

In a 2002 interview with Diane Sawyer, Houston said her business was “sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll”. She was widely known to spend money on lavish parties for her friends and business partners. In the interview, she told Sawyer: “I mean, my friends, we have a good time.” She said that in her 20s she focused on work and when she got older she reverted to party mode: “And I said, well, I’m just gonna party, you know. It was kind of a rebel in me.”

Houston made an estimated US$250 million during her career, per Billboard. But in 2006, in the midst of her downward spiral, the Atlanta home she shared with Brown went into foreclosure after she owed more than US$1 million on mortgage and taxes. It was later reported the final sale did not happen and Houston received financial help to make the payments, reports CBS.

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She had financial disputes with her dad

John Houston was an entertainment manager and Whitney hired him to help negotiate several business deals during her career, per People.

In 2002, the company owned by Whitney’s father sued her for US$100 million in a breach of contract dispute. It claimed he was owed money from a business deal he had helped negotiate.

Business Insider reported that John died unexpectedly a year later and the case was dismissed. Whitney was the sole beneficiary of a US$1 million life insurance policy of her father’s. But his then wife, Barbara, filed a lawsuit against Whitney in 2008. She claimed Whitney had pledged that the insurance money be used to pay off a mortgage Whitney held over her father’s home. Barbara said Whitney lent John money in 1990 and the loan was secured by the mortgage.

NY Daily News reported that Whitney counter-sued Barbara and court documents revealed how she had financially supported him over the years. The songstress paid her father an annual salary of between US$52,000 and US$90,000 from 1991 to 1997. She also lent him US$723,800 to remodel his condo and paid for his cars and trips.

Although she supported him financially, their relationship had deteriorated and she did not attend his funeral.

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Dad wasn’t the only one in the family she supported

Houston’s father was not the only family member she supported financially. After her death, several family members signed a deal to star in a 14-episode docuseries on Lifetime detailing their life without the singer.

The Houstons: On Our Own was reportedly borne out of necessity after Houston’s estate amounted to US$20 million after her death. That money was left to her daughter Bobbi Kristina, who could only start accessing the funds when she was 21, according to E! Online.

That meant that the family suddenly faced a cash flow problem and the idea of the docuseries came to life. Pat Houston, Whitney’s manager and sister-in-law, said there were negotiations for a reality show while Whitney was alive, reports Reuters. The cast included Whitney’s mother Cissy, older brother Gary, and his daughter Rayah.

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She blew a lot of money on drugs

Although she denied being on drugs for many years, the two-time Emmy award winner eventually came clean in a 2009 interview with Oprah Winfrey, admitting to using cocaine and marijuana. The singer said she and her then husband Bobby Brown spent large amounts of cash to fund their drug habit.

“We were buying kilos and ounces and ounces. We would have our stash,” she said. In the interview, she admitted to being in her pyjamas for seven months at one point, not bothering to get changed, but instead just getting high.

In 2010, the National Enquirer reported that Houston was spending US$6,300 a week on drugs. Just two years later, it was widely reported that the I Wanna Dance with Somebody singer had lost much of her fortune. She was relying on her record label to give her an advance for her next album.

Marie Claire added the musical icon had even resorted to calling friends to borrow money. Billboard reports that she had to turn to mentor Clive Davis for a US$1.5 million loan to fund a stint in rehab.