Nick Carter of the “Backstreet Boys” has broken his silence just a day after his younger brother Aaron Carter was found dead at his California home.
In an emotional post to Instagram, the 42-year-old wrote, “My heart has been broken today. Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded.”
Fox News Digital confirmed through a source on Saturday that Carter had died at the age of 34. Deputy Alejandra Parra, a spokeswoman for the L.A. County Sheriff’s Information Bureau, told Fox News Digital that the Sheriff’s Department responded to a medical rescue call that came in at 11:58 a.m. from the 42000 block of Valley Vista Drive, confirmed to be Carter’s residence.
Law enforcement found a deceased person at the scene but would not confirm that the person was Carter.
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Nick continued, “I have always held onto 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.”
Aaron Carter has faced a plethora of legal and personal issues over the course of his career.
In 2019, Nick and his sister Angel, Aaron’s twin, filed a restraining order against the child star, who rose to fame from singles “I Want Candy” and “Aaron’s Party.”
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The “Backstreet Boys” singer wrote at the time, “After careful consideration, my sister Angel and I regret that we were required to seek a restraining order against our brother Aaron today. In light of Aaron’s increasingly alarming behavior and his recent confession that he harbors thoughts and intentions of killing my pregnant wife and unborn child, we were left with no choice but to take every measure possible to protect ourselves and our family.”
Nick was ultimately granted the restraining order. He continued, “We love our brother and truly hope he gets the proper treatment he needs before any harm comes to himself or anyone else.”
In his Instagram post on Sunday, accompanied by several photos of the two brothers from their childhood, Nick wrote, “I will miss my brother more than anyone will ever know. I love you Chizz, now you get a chance to finally have some peace you could never find here on earth….God, Please take care of my baby brother.”
Aaron is survived by his 11-month-old son Prince, whom he shared with Melanie Martin.
Fox News’ Ashley Hume contributed to this report.
