BeBe Winans, a gospel singer who shared a decades-long friendship with R&B powerhouse Whitney Houston, is opening up about his fondest memories of her.

In an exclusive interview with People, Winans said Houston “was a sister, and beyond a sister.”

Winans alluded to how the superstar often felt burdened by her global success. She frequently wanted to do regular activities, such as walking around the mall, but her celebrity status made it difficult, he said.

“She was someone who had such a big heart and loved people and wanted to help people, but sometimes felt caged because of her success and her fame,” the artist recalled.

Winans also recounted how the “I Will Always Love You” singer helped him purchase a home, saying Houston “flew in” to help him tour a home that he was considering purchasing.

“On the back porch, she said, ‘This looks like my brother’s house,’ and I was like, ‘You said that about every room we went in,’ and then she reached in her pocket and she put out an envelope, and she gave it to me and in it was $50,000 to pay for what the bank had put on me.”

Houston didn’t expect him to ever pay her back.

“When I paid her back, she called and said, ‘You paid me back?’ and I said, ‘I told you I was.’ She said, ‘A lot of people say that!’ That was Whitney,” he stated.

Houston, who accidentally drowned in a bathtub in 2012, was also close with Winans’ sister, fellow gospel artist CeCe Winans. She later performed at Houston’s funeral.

Three years after Houston’s death, her daughter, Bobbi Kristina, died at the age of 22. Houston’s mother, Cissy Houston, died in October at the age of 91.