Nick Carter pays tribute to late brother Aaron: “Addiction and mental illness is the real villain”
Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter has paid tribute to his late brother Aaron, who passed away this week aged 34.
Carter’s representatives confirmed his passing on Saturday (November 5) shortly after it spread in reports that he was found dead in his Californian home. His house sitter reportedly found him unresponsive in his bath sometime after 11am, when police received a call from them.
Since news of Carter’s death broke, tributes have poured in from across the music industry and beyond, with New Kids On The Block, Diane Warren, Melissa Joan Hart and more all sharing their condolences and memories of Carter.
Today (November 6), Nick Carter then shared his own tribute to Aaron, discussing his brother’s troubles with addiction and mental illness.
Alongside a series of photographs of the pair shared to Instagram, Carter wrote: “My heart is broken. 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.”
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Carter launched his career at just nine years-old by opening for the Backstreet Boys in 1997. That year he also released his self-titled debut album, which went on to sell a million copies. He also occasionally made guest appearances on Nickelodeon.
He went on to release four other albums ‘Aaron’s Party (Come Get It)’ in 2000 which featured hit singles ‘I Want Candy’, ‘Bounce’, and ‘That’s How I Beat Shaq’, ‘Oh Aaron’ the following year, ‘Another Earthquake!’ in 2002 and his most recent album ‘LØVË’ in 2018.
In 2019, Carter opened up about his extensive history of mental health problems, discussing his diagnosis with personality disorder, schizophrenia, manic depression, and acute anxiety.