Substance abuse issues.
Legal troubles.
Depression.
In the early 2000s, Aaron Carter seemed to have all the money and success he could dream of.
But his personal life was far from easy.
Aaron Carter was a child star, releasing his first single, "Crush on You" at just nine years old.
He performed often, opening up for his older brother Nick's wildly popular boy band The
Backstreet Boys as early as 1997.
By 2004, Carter had released four studio albums and guest-starred in shows like Lizzie McGuire
and Sabrina the Teenage Witch.
From the beginning of his career, Carter's parents acted as his managers.
In 2003, at 16 years old, Carter claimed his mother had taken over $100,000 from his bank
account, and he publicly severed his professional ties with her.
Carter claimed in an episode of Oprah: Where Are They Now? that he'd earned $200 million
before age 18.
"There was a lot of neglect on my parents' part.
They were supposed to be putting fifteen percent of my money into my Coogan account."
Carter alleged that he received only $2 million of his earnings by his 18th birthday.
The actor was embarrassed to file for bankruptcy in 2013 and said he was spending his adult
life trying to resolve his money issues.
His tax debt was settled in 2014, according to TMZ.
Aaron Carter had seven siblings, four of which he starred alongside in the 2006 reality show
House of Carters.
Older brother Nick, twin sister Angel, and sisters Leslie and Bobbie Jean were open about
the drama in their lives and within their family.
Aaron and Nick Carter were close at one point, but the reality show featured the brothers
in an ugly fight.
In later years they grew even further apart, and things took a nasty turn in 2019 when
Nick and Angel filed a restraining order against their brother.
Nick tweeted the news, which included the disturbing allegation that Aaron had threatened
Nick's wife and their unborn child.
Aaron fired back with a tweet that read,
"I'll be just fine without them.
They need to leave me alone."
Aaron and his sister Leslie also seemed to have a friendly relationship at times, but
amid his 2019 feud with Nick, Aaron came forward with some upsetting allegations against his
late sister in a series of tweets.
In the tweets, Aaron claimed that Leslie, who suffered from bipolar disorder, sexually
abused him as a result of her condition.
Although the Carter family had its fair share of troubles, it seems as though they were
at one point a happy unit.
At least that's what Aaron Carter said while tracing the onset of his mental health issues
back to his parents' marital troubles.
During an episode of Oprah: Where Are They Now?, Carter shared a personal revelation
about his health challenges.
He revealed that his depression was caused by his desire to see his family stay together.
He was desperate to avoid his parent's divorce.
Carter explained in the interview that the timing of his parents' divorce announcement
was particularly unfortunate.
The pop star was about to film an episode of MTV's Cribs, showing off his family's large
Florida Keys estate, when his parents pulled him aside and told him the news.
Carter was devastated but continued to film the episode.
When teenage Aaron Carter was asked about the price of fame in his family, he shared
on ABC News' 20/20,
"Self-destructing.
Like a tornado just came through our house and family got tossed everywhere."
Aaron said he was involved in a physical altercation between his estranged parents when his mother
discovered his father in bed with another woman.
His mom, Jane Carter, became violent with her son, leading him to call the cops.
In 2009, Aaron Carter appeared as a contestant on Dancing with the Stars.
The opportunity couldn't have come at a better time for the singer, and he got on the show
in a rather strange way.
During a lull in his career, Carter opened a Twitter account and tweeted his phone number
so fans could call him directly.
But it wasn't only fans blowing up his cell.
"And 'Dancing with the Stars' people hit me up, through my cell phone number.
And then I was like, 'Ah!
Yay, I don't have to be broke.'"
The star trained hard for Dancing with the Stars and even got to showcase some of his
signature '90s moves.
Although Carter did well in the competition, it did not have the desired effect on his career.
He'd hoped his appearance on the show would help reignite interest in his music, and he
went about hiring a manager who in turn brought in producers and record label execs.
However, he didn't get a lot of interest from the executives and found himself back where
he started.
Aaron Carter struggled with addiction for years.
During his appearance on Oprah: Where Are They Now?, Carter discussed how he dealt with
his parents' divorce by self-medicating.
He started partying hard, which got him into a lot of trouble.
His goal was to block out his pain.
After the disappointment that followed his Dancing with the Stars stint, Carter said
he started drinking heavily and found himself in a dark place.
He reached out to his mother and his brother and entered rehab in 2011.
After a DUI arrest in 2017, Carter appeared on The Doctors, claiming he hadn't been drinking,
and that his gaunt appearance was due not to substance use, but to acid reflux.
He ended up back in rehab following a welfare check by his friends and family.
Carter entered the facility in September 2017, left in October, and then reentered one week later.
In 2019, Carter returned to The Doctors and made a surprising confession.
He told the audience he'd lied about why he'd gone to rehab in the first place.
"It's something I've kept secret from the whole world until now.
Huffing was what I was doing."
Carter revealed that he'd started huffing when he was 16 and began doing it regularly
after Dancing with the Stars.
The singer relapsed during the time that he was away from rehab.
Aaron Carter was not the only member of his family to deal with substance issues.
His brother, Nick, has been vocal about his own drug and alcohol use, and his sister Leslie
succumbed to her addiction in 2012 at just 25 years old.
Police reports revealed that Leslie died of an overdose of prescription medications.
She left behind a daughter who was just 10 months old at the time.
The news hit Aaron Carter hard, especially since he'd recently reached out to Leslie
to try and get her some help.
"I got $10,000 the week before Leslie died.
And I actually had reached out to her two weeks before that.
And I said, 'I'm going to get you the money to go to rehab.'"
In March 2022, Carter took to Instagram to show off his latest tattoo.
He'd gotten a large blue butterfly above his right eye in honor of his late sister.
As part of a lengthy post, he wrote,
"I always wanted to make her proud.
Leslie I know your [sic] in paradise.
I do feel you inside.
The things you taught me and your favorite color being blue[.] [Y]ou were a Gemini and
you were fearless."
In May 2017, Aaron Carter's father, Robert, died unexpectedly of a heart attack at the
age of 65.
The news shocked Aaron and Nick, and both brothers expressed their grief on social media.
Aaron posted a pic of him and his dad on Instagram with the heartfelt caption,
"My heart is broken, We are so hurt we lost you poppa way too soon.
You were never human to me, you were always my real life super hero."
In 2019, Carter appeared on VH1's Marriage Bootcamp: Family Edition to work on his relationship
with his mother.
In one emotional episode, he broke down in tears of guilt.
"I felt like I'd been responsible for the death of my sister, for the death of my dad."
Aaron Carter's adult life was marred not only by tragedy and addiction, but also by several
brushes with the law.
In 2008, at the age of 20, Carter was pulled over for speeding while driving his Escalade
in Texas.
He was subsequently arrested for investigation of marijuana possession.
Regarding the incident, Carter's father, Robert, told People,
"Aaron has always thought he was invincible.
Sometimes it takes a knock in the head to get people back on track.
I hope that's what happens here."
Unfortunately, it would not be the last arrest for Carter.
In 2017, he was arrested again and charged with marijuana possession and driving under
the influence in Georgia.
As part of a plea deal in 2021, the singer pleaded no contest to a reckless driving charge
related to the case and did not serve any jail time.
Carter was put on probation and ordered to complete DUI risk reduction classes, as well
as 40 community service hours.
Just days before his death in November 2022, Carter narrowly avoided yet another DUI arrest.
According to a report from TMZ, he was driving erratically but passed field sobriety tests.
Aaron Carter was open about experiencing depression following his parents' divorce, but in a 2019
episode of The Doctors, Carter revealed he'd been diagnosed with a host of mental health
disorders, saying,
"The official diagnosis is that I suffer from multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia,
acute anxiety, I'm manic depressive."
Carter explained that during the few times he'd gone off his medications, he became severely
depressed, and was plagued by suicidal thoughts, saying:
"I don't want to take 16 pills a day, but I have to."
The star expressed his desire for help, saying his older brother Nick publicly pledged support
but had not been there for him.
In 2017, Carter told Us Weekly he thought he'd be dead by age 30.
Speaking about everything he'd been through in his life at that point, Carter told the outlet:
"My goal is to be the phoenix that rises from the ashes.
Because I've been burnt...
I have been ashes before.
So I want to make sure that I rise."
Tragically, Carter's initial prediction was chillingly close to accurate.
One of the most heartbreaking aspects of Aaron Carter's passing is that he seemed to hope
for a better life.
In June 2020, Carter was engaged to on-and-off again girlfriend Melanie Martin.
In November 2021, the couple welcomed Carter's only child, a son named Prince.
Carter told The Sun:
"It's new being a parent but it's actually become really fun and exciting and given me
a new chapter of my life.
It's been amazing,"
He also shared his excitement with People a few years before becoming a dad, saying,
"I'm going to be a good father.
I know it.
I want lots of kids, lots of stability, lots of happiness and laughter and learning and
having fun.
It's going to be good."
The artist was honest about the difficulties he was experiencing.
However, in his People interview, Carter did add:
"But then I think about all the good things that I have in my life."
Carter checked into rehab once again in September 2022, to regain custody of his young child.
The artist's last Instagram post was from a music video he made with rapper Checkthestar.
In another post, pinned to Carter's profile, he is playing music and laughing with friends.
The video is short but features a moment in time where the singer seems at peace, doing
what he loved and having a good time.