Aaron Carter sat down for an episode of No Jumper in late October, which was uploaded November 2, and he expressed a desire to mend what had become an estranged and tumultuous relationship with Nick Carter, his 42-year-old brother and Backstreet Boys star. “I just hope that relationship gets fixed,” he said toward the end of the conversation. Tragically, Aaron Carter was found dead at his California home yesterday (November 5). He was 34.
Nick Carter publicly addressed his brother’s sudden passing this morning (November 6) with an Instagram carousel. “My heart is broken,” he wrote in the caption. “Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded. I have always held on to the hope that he would somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed. Sometimes we want to blame someone or something for a loss, but the truth is that addiction and mental illness is the real villain here. I will miss my brother more than anyone will ever know. I love you Chizz. Now you can finally have the peace you could never find here on earth….I love you baby brother.”
Carter began his career as an opener for the Backstreet Boys before striking out as a child pop star with albums Aaron Carter, Aaron’s Party (Come And Get It), and Oh Aaron. In September 2017, he appeared on The Doctors seeking help for his addiction to prescription pills. He didn’t hold back about his mental health issues and opened up about the grief he felt over his 25-year-old sister Leslie’s fatal overdose in 2012. Carter reappeared on the show in 2019 after a string of erratic and worrisome behavior. Also in 2019, Nick and Angel Carter, Aaron’s twin sister, sought a restraining order against Aaron.
Angel broke her silence last night, posting to Instagram, “To my twin… I loved you beyond measure. You will be missed dearly. My funny, sweet Aaron, I have so many memories of you and I, and I promise to cherish them. I know you’re at peace now. I will carry you with me until the day I die and get to see you again.”
On No Jumper, Carter additionally addressed the 2017 rape allegations brought against Nick by Dream singer Melissa Schuman, which Nick denied. “Unfortunately, I tried to play God and stand up for alleged rape victims of Nick,” Carter said on the podcast. “To my brother, I would like to apologize and say I love you. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I was there with you when it first happened in Tennessee, and you broke out in shingles on your back. … I do not think [the allegations] were true at all. I completely dismiss them.”
Carter leaves behind his fiancée Melanie Martin and nearly one-year-old son, Prince. This September, he had entered an outpatient recovery program in an ongoing effort to regain custody of Prince.