Nick Carter is grieving the loss of his brother Aaron Carter.
After the 34-year-old tragically passed away on Nov. 5, the Backstreet Boys member shared a message on Instagram. "My heart has been broken today," Carter wrote on Nov. 6. "Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded. 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," Carter continued. "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 get a chance to finally have some peace you could never find here on earth….God, Please take care of my baby brother."
Nick Carter was on tour with his bandmates in Europe when the news broke about Aaron Carter's passing, playing Westfalenhallen Dortmund in Germany the night before.
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On Nov. 5, Aaron Carter's rep confirmed to E! News that the "Crush On You" singer had died. "It is with deepest regret," the musician's rep said, "to report Aaron Carter was found unresponsive this a.m. in his home in Palmdale, CA."
TMZ, citing law enforcement sources, reported a 9-1-1 call was made, noting a man had drowned in the residence. A Lancaster Sheriff's Office spokesperson confirmed to E! News that officers arrived at Carter's home but offered no further details. No cause of death has been revealed.
Nick, 42, and Aaron had been estranged for years prior to the tragedy. In 2019, Nick and Aaron's twin sister Angel Conrad were granted restraining orders against the star, claiming Aaron Carter had told him he had thought about killing Nick's then-pregnant wife Lauren Kitt and unborn child. Carter denied the allegations and later accused Nick and their late sister Leslie Carter, who died in 2012 at 25 from a drug overdose, of abuse.
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At the time, Aaron Carter responded to the restraining orders in an Instagram video that he just wanted "to stay away from my family for a while."
In 2019, Carter spoke on TV about his mental health battles, saying he suffered from multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety and manic depression. He was also open about his struggles with substance abuse.
Two years later, Carter welcomed his son Prince with then-fiancée Melanie Martin. The couple split just two weeks later and Carter accused the model of betraying him by communicating with his estranged family members, which she denied. The former child actor also alleged that his family had tried putting him in a conservatorship.
"I have the most conniving deceiving family and Martin has been lying to me the whole time communicating with my twin sister and the family members who tried to put me in prison and who tried to get a conservatorship on me in court," Aaron alleged in another tweet. "I'm shocked this is horrible."
However, a source close to Nick Carter later told E! News that he and his wife haven't spoken to Aaron Carter or Martin in years. "They do not speak and there is no conservatorship attempt happening," the insider revealed in 2021. "No one has any idea where Aaron is getting this from."
Martin and Carter continued a tumultuous on-off relationship up until the star's passing. On Nov. 1, four days before he was found dead, Carter was pulled over by police for allegedly driving an RV erratically but was later let go after he passed a field sobriety test, TMZ reported, citing law enforcement sources.
According to the outlet, Martin was driving behind him at the time in an SUV.
