La Toya Jackson has confirmed her brother Jermaine briefly romanced Whitney Houston when she was starting out as a singer.
 
Jermaine Jackson and Houston grew close as they worked together in the studio in the mid-1980s, and Jermaine revealed in his autobiography that he had to put his feelings for the young star to one side for the sake of his marriage.
 
But now sister La Toya reveals they were more than just feelings.
 
Appearing on TV show "The Talk" on Monday, she explained, "In all due respect, I think Jermaine wrote that in his book to protect Whitney... He has admitted that they had an affair."
 
Asked if he was unfaithful to his wife at the time, La Toya responded, "I'm not sure if he was completely married (at the time)."
 
Documents show Jackson was in fact married to his first wife Hazel Gordy at the time. They divorced in 1988.
 
Jermaine Jackson was among the first stars to pay tribute to Houston following her death in Los Angeles last month. The singer heard the tragic news as he was preparing to board a plane in Turkey and phoned CNN to offer his thoughts to newsman Piers Morgan.