Whitney Houston knew her life was coming to an end in the weeks leading up to her death in February - she kept telling her longtime confidant she was planning to "leave America".
Raffles van Exel admits his friend's drug-related death caught him by surprise, but, looking back, he reveals Houston offered him clues.
Whitney Houston had battled with drugs for a long time before her death
He tells the Globe, "She kept talking about leaving America. I thought she meant Switzerland, where she'd talked about living.
"Now I realise she meant she was leaving this world."
And van Exel has also opened up about the day Houston's body was found in the bathroom of her suite at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, revealing paramedics called to her room had to move furniture before attempting to revive the singer - because she was lying in a pool of bathwater on the carpet.
He adds, "I saw Whitney lying on the floor with her bodyguard, who'd lifted her out, trying to give her CPR. She was totally naked. I got a towel and placed it over her navel... They (paramedics) moved her from the bathroom to the living area. I helped one of the detectives move a sofa to make room."
Houston died in February. Her final film, Sparkle, is due in cinemas in August, co-starring Jordin Sparks as her daughter. In a video just released - WATCH BELOW - is a montage of clips from the film, along with the cast singing Celebrate, at a party - all fun and smiles - with just one guest poignantly absent...