Dark Secrets The Carter Family Tried To Hide

As the Backstreet Boys' youngest member, Nick Carter's image as the cute boy next door was tarnished following two arrests in the mid-2000s. In 2002, 21-year-old Nick found himself in a heated argument with a female as a brawl broke out at a Tampa, Fla. nightclub. During an appearance on MTV's Total Request Live, the "I Want It That Way" singer claimed to be "in the wrong place at the wrong time" (via People). But after allegedly refusing repeated requests by the police to quiet his dispute and leave the bar, the pop star was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor for resisting a law enforcement officer without violence.

"I ain't a bad person. I've never been in trouble my whole life," Nick told host Carson Daly. "I was basically in tears almost. I can't get too into it, but basically I can tell you I did not do anything wrong, and I know that for a fact ... If I disrespected a cop in any way, I, you know, apologize."

In 2005, the "Incomplete" singer was arrested again — this time for alleged DUI in Southern California. According to People, the boy band member failed a sobriety test after being pulled over. "Nick Carter deeply regrets the current situation," his rep released in a statement. "He is on doctor prescribed medication and was unaware of its interaction possibilities."

Jane Carter devoted her life to building her talented sons' careers, but her momager tendencies put even Kris Jenner to shame. "I sacrificed my whole entire life for that child and for the other child for the sake of that family," she said in the family's 2005 20/20 special. "I made sacrifices every day. I was willing to do it for them, for the family."

But the Carter kids lost their mom in the process. "We were starved for that attention of a motherly figure," Nick said. Aaron agreed, adding, "I just want her to love me, you know? I just want her to be my mom. Is that too much to ask for?" And their sisters, B.J., Leslie, and Angel, grew resentful. As their dad, the late Bob Carter, explained, "The other kids used to call Nick the 'cash cow.' And when Nick grew up, Aaron was the cash cow. 'Oh, mom only likes the cash cow.'" 

To make matters worse, the Carter matriarch wrote tell-all books about her sons, and allegedly stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from their fortunes. "Every show we did, we would probably make about maybe $40,000, $50,000 a show," Aaron said. "And it was all gone." Fame and fortune ultimately cost Jane her family. "It taught me a really big lesson," she admitted. "That all the material things in the world are not important compared to the amount of time that you can spend with your children." 

During the early 2000s, nothing could slow down Nick Carter's spiraling drug and alcohol abuse. "There were things that were happening, proving that maybe what I was doing was out of control, all sorts of crazy stuff," he told People in 2009. "But every time those red flags would come up, I'd appease people in my inner circle and make them think everything was all right."

That changed in 2008, when the "Larger Than Life" singer felt a mild pain in his chest. After Nick visited a cardiologist for medical testing, he admitted, "I went out and I just went nuts. I drank so much and did a bunch of blow. I felt like I was trying to kill myself — because I didn't want to get the results."

Nick was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy. Due to years of abusing drugs and alcohol, toxins built up in his weakened heart, making it difficult to pump blood — a serious condition that could be fatal. "My doctor said, 'You need to change your lifestyle. I don't want you to end up like that,'" the pop star revealed. "I was like, 'I don't want to end up like that either.'" The boy band member focused on his health, lost nearly 50 pounds, and within a year, he was clean. "I'm trying to make myself better," Nick said. "But I don't regret anything that I've gone through, because it makes me who I am."

Aaron Carter's engagement to Playboy model Kari Ann Peniche was as fleeting as it was random. According to People, an 18-year-old Aaron popped the question in front of an audience of 200 while on stage at the Playboy Comedy Tour in Las Vegas in 2006. Peniche, who was 22 at the time and had previously dated Nick, was surprised, but said yes.

But the "I Want Candy" singer called it off only six days later. "He's really young and just needs to get his act together," Peniche told the publication. "I don't know what's going on right now. We're friends and maybe we'll get back together sometime. We haven't ruled out getting back together."

Aaron later opened up about the brief affair on E! News. "I made a mistake, and she made a mistake, too, so, we both did," he told Ryan Seacrest. "I was by myself, and all of a sudden, someone threw it out as a joke, and I said, 'Okay! Whatever, I'll do it.' And I did it on impulse. Is that a good excuse?" Well, in Seacrest's words, "No."

Aaron Carter's notably skinny appearance is due to his chronic health problems — namely, crippling anxiety and a condition called a hiatal hernia.

In 2015, the "That's How I Beat Shaq" rapper went on the defense in a Twitter rant, blaming his weight loss on a "s**t ton of anxiety" after cyber-bullies accused him of using meth. "The way people talk about my weight is like high school times a million," he tweeted (via Entertainment Tonight). "Just so we are very clear I don't do drugs."

As Nicki Swift previously reported, the "Aaron's Party (Come Get It)" rapper broke down while discussing the effects of his conditions in July 2017. "Unless you're in my body, you don't know. I'm sorry for the way that I look," he told Entertainment Tonight. "[I weigh] 135, 140. Yeah, and I'm 5'8. [Doctors] said avoid stress. Because I can develop cancer." He even admitted it's hard to look in the mirror sometimes. "Oh my God, it hurts so badly," Aaron continued. "It hurts so badly because there's like nothing I can do about it." However, he said that he does use Voluma to "fill [his] face," as well as JUVÉDERM and Restylane treatments.

Leslie Carter's untimely death exacerbated the growing rift between Nick and the rest of the Carter clan. Due to touring obligations with the Backstreet Boys, he was unable to attend her funeral. "I wanted to be at my sister's funeral," he told E! News. "But my family has always had a complicated dynamic ... There are so many emotions for me surrounding the loss of my sister. I am trying to stay healthy, positive, and focused."

In 2013, Nick opened up to talk show host Dr. Phil about his "toxic" relationship with his family. "I started to get blamed by the rest of the family," who supposedly felt Leslie would still be alive if Nick "had been there" for her. "There's definitely a part of me that did blame myself," he continued. "I think that's because of the responsibility that I sort of took on as the oldest member in my family — [and] probably should not have been taken on."

While speaking with Entertainment Tonight four years later, the "In a World Like This" singer revealed that he was again in touch with his siblings, but "still a little estranged from [his] parents." As Nick continued, "It really is something that I deal with on a daily basis. I'm working on it internally and otherwise just really focusing on my family now and all the things that I can give and do better and get right with mine. Things that I didn't necessarily have with my own."

Things took an especially dark turn between Nick and Aaron Carter when the Backstreet Boy singer took out a restraining order against his little bro in September 2019. Here's what went down: After Aaron unleashed a series of angry, since-deleted tweets against his older sibling, Nick cleared the air on Twitter with a shocking revelation. 

"After careful consideration, my sister Angel and I regret that we were required to seek a restraining order against our brother Aaron today," Nick tweeted. "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." 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." At the time of the tweet, Nick's wife, Lauren Kitt, was reportedly in her third trimester. 

Aaron didn't take the tweets too well, to say the least, and immediately replied to the snub with his own messages. "I haven't seen him in four years. And I don't intend," he claimed in one tweet, before writing, "Take care. @nickcarter we're done for life."

Even with eight years between them, Nick and Aaron used to make an adorable team — but things have clearly not always been smooth sailing between the "Not Too Young, Not Too Old" brothers. Fans first caught a glimpse of their rocky relationship when a heated argument between the two ended in a fistfight on their 2006 reality show, House of Carters. And in July 2017, their estrangement took another hit when Aaron was arrested for his alleged DUI. Although Nick tweeted out support, Aaron accused him of not being genuine as he decided to bring up the conversation on a "public forum." 

As previously mentioned, Aaron and Nick are sadly still on the outs as of September 2019. Not only did the Backstreet Boys star take out a restraining order on his little brother, but Aaron later accused Nick of being a "serial rapist," including the alleged rape of a 91-year-old woman. Yikes. But wait — that's not all. Aaron seemed to insinuate Nick was capable of harming him, stating, "I'm so scared that something is going to happen to me. I endured so much abuse from nick that I don't know what he's capable of. If something happens. I let god lead the way and he is with me." 

As for Nick, he has remained quiet about the allegations amid Aaron's tweetstorm, but has reportedly increased security. Moral of the story? We don't see this brotherly feud ending anytime soon.