'I did the best I could': Whitney Houston's mother speaks for first time since daughter's death... and says she doesn't blame herself

Whitney Houston's mother has spoken out for the first time since her daughter's death to reveal she does not hold herself responsible.

Cissy opened her heart to local television station My9 following almost two months of silent mourning.

And while the 78-year-old is devastated by her superstar daughter's sudden passing, she also said there is nothing more she could have done to save her substance abusing child.

Not to blame: Cissy Houston has revealed she does hold herself responsible for her daughter's death

In the interview, which airs on Monday, the elderly gospel singer said: 'I know I did the best I could.

'I don’t blame myself. I know I did the best I could for everything.'
Speaking at the New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, she also said the 48-year-old tried to help her family as much as she could.

She said: 'My children are my whole life. She was very special to me... she was my only daughter, and a good one. [She] looked out for her family.

Hard to cope: Cissy struggled to maintain her composure throughout

So close: Whitney and her mother enjoyed sharing in the pop idol's success

'I'm very proud of my daughter, She accomplished a whole lot in the short time that she had here
'She was a very wonderful person.'

She spoke to the news station at the church where her 48-year-old daughter was laid to rest following her death in a bathtub at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 11.

And she said she is still not recovered from the shock of discovering Whitney had died.
Cissy, who famously appeared in the video for Whitney's hit Greatest Love of All, said: 'I have my moments.

'I'm not there yet.  I don't think I'm any more courageous than anyone else.'
'I am a true believer in God, if I could bring her back I would, but that's not possible.'

Cissy is under even more family stress at the moment, as her granddaughter Bobbi Kristina, 19, plans to marry Nick Gordon, a longtime friend who's known as her 'adopted' brother.

According to Star magazine she vehemently disapproves of the engagement.