Bobby Brown on Whitney: I'm not the reason she's gone

Plenty of chatter has persisted over the years about what impact, if any, Bobby Brown may have had on Whitney Houston's life and career, and now the late legend's ex is speaking out.

In an interview that's set to air on the "Today" show Wednesday, the R&B singer says that for one thing, he's not responsible for Houston's battle with drug use. According to Brown, Houston's use of substances began “way before” they met.

"I didn't get high [on narcotics] before I met Whitney," Brown told "Today's" Matt Lauer. "I smoked weed, I drank the beer, but no, I wasn't the one that got Whitney on drugs at all... It's just unexplainable how one could, you know, [say that I] got her addicted to drugs. I'm not the reason she's gone."

Houston's life was cut short in February of this year due to an accidental drowning, with the "effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use" being contributing factors, according to an autopsy report.

Of her death, Brown told Lauer that "it had to be that one [time] because that's all it takes ... One hit, you know ... it could definitely take your life away from you. And, unfortunately, that was it."

Houston's ex-husband and the father of her only child, Bobbi Kristina, also commented on how their joint drug use impacted their failed relationship. The pair divorced in 2007 after 15 years of marriage.

“We was able to see that our drug use had affected our relationship - had affected the love that we felt for each other,” he said, reflecting on the eye-opening reality show they did together seven years ago, “Being Bobby Brown."

These days, the singer said he is "very much clean and sober from narcotics." On Thursday, Brown's fiance and three children will join him on the NBC morning show to discuss the media's take on their loved one.