Angel Carter Conrad, the twin sister of late pop star Aaron Carter, is sharing painful memories of her brother’s experiences with addiction.
On Thursday’s episode of “The Squeeze” podcast, Carter Conrad said she’d actually begun mentally preparing herself for Aaron Carter’s death when their sister, Leslie Carter, died of a drug overdose in 2012 at age 25.
“[Leslie’s] death completely blindsided me. I didn’t see that one coming,” she said. “When she died, I was already in therapy preparing for Aaron’s death. I thought he was going to die. I feared it my entire 20s.”
“I knew this day was going to come, and I think he knew it, too, because he could not get out of it,” she added.
Aaron Carter died of an accidental drug overdose in Nov. 2022 at age 34. Out of the five Carter siblings, only Carter Conrad and her older brother, singer Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys, are still alive. Sister Bobbie Jean Carter died in December 2023 at age 41, also of a drug overdose.
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A Tampa, Florida native, Aaron Carter shot to global fame as a teen in the late 1990s and early 2000s with hit songs like “Aaron’s Party (Come Get It)” and “I Want Candy.” He appeared alongside his siblings on the E! reality series, “House of Carters,” in 2006.
His later years, however, were defined by his experiences with drug and alcohol abuse, as well as his publicly strained relationship with his family. In 2017, he was arrested for driving under the influence, and entered rehab that same year. He acknowledged having a huffing addiction in 2019.
In her “Squeeze” chat, Carter Conrad said she understood that things “were really bad for him, drug-wise” early on and described her twin as “out of control.” But she believes Aaron Carter’s role as a “breadwinner,” as well as the Carter family’s long history with addiction, prevented him from seeking the help he needed.
“I would be really honest with Aaron and I would call him out on his stuff … but he didn’t want to hear that from me. He wanted to hear that from my mom and dad,” she said. “It was my mom and dad’s job to step up for their kid … but because they couldn’t even help themselves, how are they going to be able to help Aaron?”
Aaron and Nick Carter were the subjects of an Investigation Discovery docuseries, “Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter,” released last month.
Listen to Angel Carter Conrad’s “The Squeeze” interview below. Her comments on Aaron Carter begin around the 36:28 mark.
Need help with substance use disorder or mental health issues? In the U.S., call 800-662-HELP (4357) for the SAMHSA National Helpline.