Bobbi Kristina Engaged to "Adopted" Brother, Wearing Whitney Houston's Diamond Ring, Says Source

Wonderwall, Friday, March 16, 2012, 1:25pm (PDT)

Us Magazine

• Whitney Houston's family drama has not simmered down since her shocking Feb. 11 death.

  The late singer's daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, was recently photographed in Atlanta holding hands with and kissing Nick Gordon, a young man whom Houston took in when he was 12 years old. A source now tells Us Weekly that 19-year-old Bobbi Kristina and Nick are engaged and living together in one of her mother's Atlanta properties.

  PHOTOS: Whitney Houston's family album

  And Bobbi Kristina, whose dad is Houston's ex-husband Bobby Brown, has been showing off a huge diamond engagement ring on her left hand to pals -- a bauble once worn by her mother, 48 years old at the time of her death, the source explains.

  "The situation is beyond sad," the source says. "Whitney never formally adopted Nick, but he lived with her and Bobbi Kristina from the age of 12 and they were raised like brother and sister. Nick came from a really bad background."

  VIDEO: Whitney's incredible musical legacy

  Although the duo were "always close," their relationship "has evolved a lot," the source says, "and they are living like a couple."

  Perhaps not surprisingly, Bobbi's family (grandmother Cissy Houston, father Bobby Brown) is "really upset" and "worried" about the unconventional romance.

  "Bobbi Kristina is still so vulnerable since her mother passed away," the source adds. "But Nick has become like her rock."

  PHOTOS: Whitney Houston 1963-2012

  Indeed, the grieving Bobbi Kristina was seen sporting the ring during her interview with Oprah Winfrey on last Sunday's "Oprah: The Next Chapter."

  "I'm doing as good as I possibly can at this point. I'm just trying to keep going," said Bobbi, who briefly checked into the hospital after her mother's death. "I can sing her music, but to hear it now, I can't. I can hear her voice telling me, 'Keep moving, baby. I got you.' She's always with me. I can always feel her with me. She used to always say, 'Do you need me?' And I said, 'I always need you.'"

  ALSO ON WONDERWALL:

  Whitney Houston: In Memoriam

  Bobbi Kristina Heals After Houston's Death

  Bobbi Kristina's New Romance