When Whitney Houston's life was on a downward spiral she went into hiding in a Southern California mansion that became her own personal attempt at rehab. INSIDE EDITION got exclusive access inside the home where the star tried to get her life
This is the secret hideaway where Whitney Houston tried and failed to get her life back on track—a mansion she turned into her own personal rehab facility.
INSIDE EDITION got exclusive access to the lavish home in Laguna Hills, California. Houston rented it in 2006, when her life was falling to pieces.
She chose the stunning mansion because her drug counselor lived close by. Houston stayed there with her daughter, Bobbi Kristina.
The expansive home has soaring ceilings and lots of natural light. There's a large family room complete with a fireplace and a swimming pool out back. It's not a place you'd ever expect would serve as a rehab facility.
Addiction specialist Dr. Howard Samuels says Houston's secret hideaway is typical of celebrity rehab—long on luxury, short on success.
"So what if it's a nice house? It doesn't mean anything. It doesn't mean anything unless there is individual psychological and emotional work being done by the addict," said Dr. Samuels. "The problem is that celebrities get to sort of choose the kind of rehab that they want to go to. That's where it gets to be, I think, detrimental to their well-being."
Dr. Drew Pinsky says Houston needed structure and tough love, not fancy digs or pampering. Dr. Drew said, "These treatments were abject failures. She needed a lot more treatment. She did not need to be out in the public. She didn't need to be paraded around in public and partying."
Dr. Samuels agrees, saying, "Rehab is about people. Rehab is about a community. You can have a nice house, believe me. I mean, in my treatment center, and my treatment center is nice, but it is full of people. There is a program. That's what is not here [Whitney's rented house]."
