LATEST! BOBBY BROWN arrested for DUI in Los Angeles. Bobby was pulled over by cops for talking on a cellphone and then failed 4 sobriety tests. He is a Van Nuys jail. Bond has not yet been set.Updated: 2:17 PM PDT

Before her tragic death, WHITNEY HOUSTON was set to stun the world by walk­ing down the aisle once again with her badboy ex-hubby BOBBY BROWN, The ENQUIRER has learned.

The stormy couple vowed to re-wed after a week of torrid sex at Whitney’s Atlanta home, but her family blew up at the news, and their rage triggered the final booze and drug binge that claimed the superstar singer’s life.

“Bobby told me, ‘Whitney and me are getting married again,’ ” his close friend Derrick Handspike told The ENQUIRER in a world exclusive interview.

“They were planning a small wedding, prob­ably in Las Vegas with just the two of them and their daughter Krissi.

“Bobby told me, ‘The world may have thought we were histo­ry, but the reality is we were never really apart. We’ve never stopped loving each other.’ ”

And Derrick says Bobby – whose turbulent 14-year marriage to Whitney ended in 2007 – told him: “I could have saved her! If I had been with Whitney, she never would have died in that hotel bathtub. I would have never left her alone!”

Before she passed, Whitney had been involved in a casual relationship with 31-year-old hip-hop singer Ray J. But Derrick claims any real ro­mance between them was over.

“Their relationship had turned into more of a friendship,” said Derrick, a 41-year-old entertainment executive who’s known former “New Edition” singer Bobby since 1991 and authored his biography.

“Bobby knew Whitney was still in love with him. Even Ray J knew nothing could break Bobby and Whitney’s tight bond.”

According to Derrick, the pass­ing of Bobby’s father Herbert – who lost his battle with can­cer at age 82 on Dec. 10, 2011 – sparked Whitney and Bobby’s hush-hush reconciliation.

“Bobby lost both his parents last year, and he was at his lowest emotional point,” said Derrick. “After his dad’s funeral in Boston, he flew to Atlanta. Whitney and Krissi picked him up at the airport.”

For the next week, Bobby,43, holed up at Whitney’s home, where they rekindled their romance and their in­timate relationship, said Derrick.

“Bobby and Whitney went to some of their favorite restaurants, reminisced about the good old days, and watched TV,” said Derrick.

“They slept together in Whit­ney’s bedroom, and talked about what kind of wedding they’d have. Bobby told me, ‘That week was the happiest I’ve been. Whit­ney and I got that old feeling back, and we were a family again.’ ”

Bobby shared the couple’s dra­matic decision to re-wed with their daughter Krissi during din­ner at a Beverly Hills restaurant on Feb. 1. Whitney dined with them, then left Krissi with her father. It was the last time Bobby saw her alive.

 “Nobody in the Houston fam­ily, especially Cissy, wanted to see Whitney and Bobby back together. But if Whitney wanted to get back with Bobby, no one, not even her mother, would stop her.”

The family meltdown caused Whitney to flip out, according to a source.

“Whitney’s erratic behavior re­turned, and she went on a booze and pill bender in the days lead­ing up to her death,” the source revealed.

Bobby told Derrick: “I could have saved her,” adding that be­cause of her past history with dangerous drugs he would have been by her side while she was bathing.

 “She would not have died in that bathtub,” Bobby told his best pal and biographer.

With Whitney gone, all Bobby wants is happiness for their only child Krissi. But he’s afraid Whitney’s family will brainwash Krissi against him.

“They’ve always blamed Bobby for introducing Whitney to co­caine, but it actually was the other way around,” said Derrick.

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