Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys is speaking out about the death of his younger brother Aaron Carter, who was found dead Saturday at his home in Southern California.
“My heart has been broken today,” Nick, 42, began in a tribute shared to Instagram Sunday. “Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded.”
Aaron died at age 34.
In 2019, Nick filed a restraining order against his brother.
“We were left with no choice but to take every measure possible to protect ourselves,” he tweeted at the time. “We love our brother and truly hope he gets the proper treatment he needs before any harm comes to himself or anyone else.”
Aaron Carter obituary: Singer and reality TV star found dead at 34 in California home
The Backstreet Boys singer wrote that he “always held onto hope, that (Aaron) 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,” Nick continued.
He concluded: “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.”
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Previous: Nick Carter gets restraining order against brother Aaron, cites ‘alarming behavior’
On Saturday, deputies responded around 11 a.m. following reports of a medical emergency at the home in Lancaster, said Deputy Alejandra Parra with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, per The Associated Press.
Backstreet Boys pay tribute to Aaron Carter, brother Nick breaks down in tears
The Backstreet Boys paid tribute to Aaron during their Sunday night show at The O2 Arena in London. In videos shared on social media, Backstreet Boys member Kevin Richardson dedicated their 2019single, “No Place,” to Aaron, and explained the song was “very special to us because that song is about family.”
“Everybody in here, we all grew up together,” he said to the crowd.
Nick was visibly emotional and tried holding back tears while the audience yelled, “We love you Nick.” Other members of the band were seen taking turns hugging him .
“We’ve been through highs and lows and ups and downs — we thank you for being with the Backstreet family for 29 years, for all the love,” Richardson continued. “Tonight we’ve got a little bit of heavy hearts because we lost one of our family members yesterday. We just wanted to find a moment in our show to recognize him.”
In another video shared on Twitter from the concert, photos of Aaron were projected on a giant screen in an in-memoriam tribute.
Aaron Carter’s twin sister Angel remembers her ‘sweet’ brother
Aaron’s twin sister Angel also shared a heartfelt tribute to her late brother on Instagram Saturday.
“To my twin… I loved you beyond measure,” Angel, 34, wrote alongside a series of childhood photos of the pair. “You will be missed dearly.”
She continued, “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,” Angel concluded.
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The Game remembers Aaron Carter as ‘very good human,’ recalls flight together
Rapper The Game reposted Nick’s throwback photo from his Instagram tribute Sunday and shared an anecdote about the first time he met Aaron aboard a flight in 2005.
“Your words to your brother as honest & pure as they were touched me this morning so I wanted to write you back & share with the world a quick story that was a true testament to Aaron’s character & heart,” The Game began his caption.
“I boarded a flight to New York with my now 19 year old son (and) his mom to do ‘106 & Park’ and we were 1st class, so we thought,” The Game recalled. “Turns out they over booked (and) we were one seat short (and Aaron) was sitting across the isle (and) said ‘Hey, you guys have little man.. you can have my seat Game.’ “
The rapper said he “felt bad” that Aaron gave up his first-class seat, so he joined him in coach, where they ended up talking for nearly six hours.
“I can remember thinking how kool it was to be talking to a guy I seen on MTV a million times, who my lil sister loved to death, cause again I had just became a star so this was super dope,” The Game wrote. “We got to know one another very well during that flight, exchanged sidekick numbers (and) always hugged when we saw each other over the years.”
“He was dope … (and) a very good human,” he concluded. “Rest Easy Aaron, fly high kid.”
Aaron Carter rose to fame in the early 2000s for ‘Aaron’s Party (Come Get It)’
Aaron performed as an opening act for Britney Spears as well as his brother’s boy band, and appeared on the family’s reality series “House of Carters” that aired on E! Entertainment Television in 2006.
He reached triple-platinum status with his sophomore album, 2000’s “Aaron’s Party (Come Get It),” which produced hit singles including the title song and “I Want Candy.” His videos received regular airplay on Disney and Nickelodeon.
His fifth and final studio album, “LOVE,” was released in 2018.
Over the years, Aaron struggled with substance abuse issues, entering rehab in 2017 following a DUI and an arrest for drug possession.
“I will be disappearing for a while to work on myself,” he wrote at the time. “Going to get strong. And work on my stress conditions and get better.”
In 2019, he apologetically canceled a string of tour dates, saying he was prioritizing his well-being.
“I have to put my health first and I hope you can all understand how much I need this time to heal and recharge my batteries,” he wrote. “This is what I need to do to have some peace.”
In September 2022, Aaron revealed he had voluntarily entered rehab in hope of regaining custody of his baby son, Prince.
Contributing: Andrea Mandell, Maeve McDermott and Kim Willis, USA TODAY, and The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nick Carter, Backstreet Boys pay tribute to Aaron Carter during show
