Bobby Brown says daughter, Bobbi Kristina, was never married

Bobbi Kristina Brown has commented often about her marriage to Nick Gordon, the orphaned young man she grew up with after Whitney Houston brought him into the family. But her father's lawyer says they never wed.

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"To correct earlier reports, Bobbi Kristina is not and has never been married to Nick Gordon," reads a statement released Tuesday by R&B singer Bobby Brown's attorney, Christopher Brown.

Legal authority over Bobbi Kristina's health care and money could become a critical issue for the fractious Houston-Brown family, which has said that Bobbi Kristina "is fighting for her life" after being found face-down in her bathtub on Saturday.

Gordon has not spoken publicly since he encountered her unresponsive body. Police said he attempted to revive her while a friend called 911, and that she was alive when rushed to a hospital.

Whitney Houston never formally adopted Gordon, but raised the two teenagers together after divorcing Brown.

Bobbi Kristina became the sole inheritor of her mother's estate when she died in 2012, and shortly thereafter, she and Gordon went public with their romantic relationship.

Then, on Jan. 9, 2014, Bobbi Kristina posted a photo on Twitter of the couple's hands wearing wedding rings, with the caption "#HappilyMarried. So #InLove. If you didn't get it the first time that is."

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And as recently as Dec. 25, she was still telling the world that Gordon is her husband:

"MerryChristmas!! :)(:Snuggling in a beautiful hotelroom with MYbeautiful husband @nickdgordon :)(:Life couldn't be sweeter at the moment!"

Relations between Gordon and some other family members soured last year: He remains subject to a protective order barring him from being within 200 feet (60 meters) of Bobbi Kristina's aunt, Patricia Houston.