Aaron Carter’s twin says dysfunctional childhood contributed to deaths of 3 siblings
Angel Carter Conrad, the twin sister of the late Aaron Carter and younger sister of Backstreet Boys' Nick Carter, never intended to become a public figure.
But after the tragic loss of Aaron, as well as sisters Leslie and Bobbie Jean, she knew she had to take a step into the spotlight to advocate for mental health.
"After Aaron passed away in November of 2022, a fire lit inside of me to want to continue the conversation about mental health," she told Fox News Digital. "At the time, it was my second sibling who had passed away. So, I really wanted to do something to honor Aaron in a way that would be meaningful to society and to really do something to continue the conversation about mental health."
Carter Conrad, along with Nick, began working with the nonprofit Kids Mental Health Foundation (formerly On Our Sleeves), an initiative of Nationwide Children’s Hospital, to raise awareness of the importance of children’s mental health.
"I had zero interest in ever being in the entertainment industry. I have so many memories of being on tour with Aaron and just sitting on the side of the stage and letting him shine. I supported him. I loved that about him, and I loved being on the side of the stage. And that's why even what I'm doing today with my mental health advocacy is, it's really a moment for me and [my] growth to really step outside the box and to put myself in this position that, you know, I've stayed away from for so many years on purpose," she said.
WATCH: AARON CARTER’S TWIN TALKS ABOUT RELEASING HIS FINAL ALBUM AND WORKING ON CHILDREN’S MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCACY
"But I know the importance of the work that we're doing. And I know that my siblings aren't here anymore, other than Nick. It's just me and Nick, and there's no one else that can stand up in this moment and really talk about the importance of mental health with my family."
Their siblings, Aaron, Bobbie Jean and Leslie, all died from complications stemming from drug addiction.
NICK CARTER BREAKS SILENCE ON SISTER BOBBIE JEAN’S DEATH: ‘I AM COMPLETELY HEARTBROKEN’
In 2023, Bobbie Jean died from a drug overdose at age 41. According to the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner report obtained by Fox News Digital, her cause of death was "intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl and methamphetamine."
A year prior, Aaron drowned with the "effects of difluoroethane and alprazolam" listed as contributing factors in his death by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner. Difluoroethane is an aerosol propellant found in spray cans, and alprazolam is commonly referred to as Xanax.
In 2012, their sister, Leslie, died from a drug overdose. She was found at the time with olanzapine as well as the muscle relaxant cyclobenzaprine and the antianxiety drug Xanax.
Growing up with two famous siblings, plus sisters Leslie and Bobbie Jean, and parents Jane and Robert, was "complicated," Carter Conrad said.
LESLIE CARTER, SISTER OF NICK AND AARON CARTER, DIES AT 25
"There are so many layers that goes into this. You know, we're talking a generational dysfunction issue within my family. My parents both came from families that suffered from addiction issues. And sadly, they just repeated the cycle with us," she said.
"So, as kids, we grew up in a home where there was a lot of fighting. There was a lot of partying. There were drugs. There was alcohol around, and there were no boundaries. There was no structure, no discipline, no boundaries and no protection. And then you throw in fame and money into that, and it just took it to a whole another level."
Nick rose to fame as the youngest member of the Backstreet Boys in the mid to late '90s, while Aaron followed in his footsteps and released his first album, "Aaron’s Party (Come Get It)," at age 13 in 2000.
As Carter Conrad put it, when Nick joined the Backstreet Boys, "[E]verything just kind of changed after that."
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
"Money started rolling in, and I think my parents had never seen anything like this before," she said. "They had never had access to so much money. And what happened with that is you had all this chaos, all th[ese] traumatic things happening and, you know, partying and fighting and addiction issues going on. And when fame and money came into it, everything got swept under the rug because my parents didn't want to mess anything up with what was going on with Nick and Aaron. They didn't want to hurt the name by all the issues that were going on."
Being the youngest, along with Aaron, Carter Conrad experienced the chaotic life of fame as "my normal" for a while.
"As I got older, things started to change, and I started to realize more that not every child has this same situation or is in this family. So, there was a period where I started to see the shift, but mostly, it was kind of all I knew for a while."
At home, she recalls a lot of "generational dysfunction" with her parents "using" and drinking.
BACKSTREET BOYS' NICK CARTER TALKS FORMING A BOY BAND, COPING WITH HIS FATHER'S DEATH
"There was a lot of drinking in the home," she said. "So, I think that, you know, children … they see their parents and what they're doing … but it is complicated."
She added, "But I really do believe that the generational component to it and that biological basis is a big part of it."
WATCH: ANGEL CARTER CONRAD, TWIN SISTER OF AARON CARTER, EXPLAINS HOW FAMILY DYSFUNCTION CONTRIBUTED TO HER SIBLINGS' DEATHS
Carter Conrad admitted she also experienced her own issues around 15 and 16 years old, but "thankfully I was able to get out of it and really change my life around. But I don't believe that I have the gene for the addiction, I really don't."
The 37-year-old also said she had a slightly different childhood than most of her siblings.
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
"Growing up, I was the child that was the observer in my family. I was the mediator. I was always trying to get everybody to stop arguing with each other and hug it out and to [say], 'It's OK, everything's going to be fine,'" she said. "And I had more structure and discipline in my childhood because I was in school the longest and because I was neglected so much by my parents, and my emotional needs were never met or cared about. I was able to go and be with my friends, be with their families and sit at the dinner table [at] the end of the day and to talk about what was going on."
Following the loss of their siblings, Conrad Carter and Nick find themselves speaking regularly about their mental health, something she says they’ve always had in common.
According to her, Nick was the one who recommended therapy for everyone in the family following the conclusion of filming their reality series, "House of Carters," in 2006.
"I remember that day because [it was] the last day when we were in the home. Nick set all of us down, and he said, ‘Who wants to go to therapy? I will pay for it.’ And I remember that day so vividly because not only did it change the course of my life, but I was the only sibling who said I would go."
"And sadly, my siblings did not take that same opportunity. And they are no longer here. I really think that I was at an age where I was able to be molded, and I had an openness about me to want to get help and to say I don't know it all."
Carter Conrad added she’s grateful for her relationship with her brother because "there's only one person in the world who knows what that feeling was like in our childhood, because you have the memories, but it's a feeling, and I can tap into that at any point in time. And I'm just so thankful that I had Nick to lean on to, because there's only so much that your community can do for you and that your friends can do [for] you and the support that they can give you, but to have someone who really understands it completely because they lived it as well."
Both siblings have struggled with grief, especially as they tried to help their siblings with their issues.
"When Aaron died, not only was it my twin brother, but it was my second sibling at the time who had passed away. So, to have to go through this again, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I have got to do something to turn this around and to heal,’" Carter Conrad said.
NICK CARTER SHARES VIDEO ‘CHERISHING THESE MOMENTS' WITH SON FOLLOWING SISTER’S SUDDEN DEATH
"I had spent years in therapy thinking that Aaron was going to die. And to put it in perspective, when Leslie passed away, her death completely blindsided me. I, at that time, I had thought it was going to be Aaron, and it was because Aaron had been addicted to drugs since he was 16 years old, and he never snapped out of it. So, this wasn't something that just happened in the last few years. This was something within my family privately that was going on for many, many, many years. And Nick and I were trying to help Aaron."
Aaron, Leslie and Bobbie Jean’s deaths continue to push Carter Conrad to advocate for mental health, particularly children’s mental health.
"I don't want to say I'm thankful for what has happened to me, because certainly I'm not thankful for what has happened to me, but I respect it because it's made me who I am today, and it's made me so aware of my daughter and her needs and how to be a better parent, because I don't want to make those same mistakes," she said.
WATCH: ANGEL CARTER CONRAD, TWIN SISTER OF AARON CARTER, EXPLAINS HOW FAME AND MONEY IMPACTED HER FAMILY NEGATIVELY
She continued, "I want to change the course. I want to change the narrative for the Carter family. And I want to show these children in this Carter family and all the children that it is a choice, at the end of the day, to find the good in a situation. This is a life lesson. And I think that for me, how things turned out differently is I made good choices for myself, and I've listened to people who were older and wiser than me, and I had that openness about me."
"We all have mental health. Everybody has mental health, just like we have physical health. And we want to show the world with the Kids Mental Health Foundation that we are here for you, that we have guides that can support you. We have expert-created videos that will teach you and guide you along the way, if your child is going through something."
AARON CARTER'S MOM DEMANDS POLICE INVESTIGATION, SHARES DISTURBING PHOTOS FROM HIS DEATH SCENE
Part of that work includes continuing to honor her family, including Aaron and his final album, which is to be released posthumously in May in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month.
"We're just so excited to be able to put the music out there and to give the fans what they're asking for, which is this album," Carter Conrad said.
Interest in Aaron’s final work, which had been performed off and on over the past 10 years but essentially sat on the shelf until now, was the response from fans after the Songs for Tomorrow benefit concert held in honor of Aaron in January 2023, particularly the song "Recovery."
"During that show, we had pieced together clips of Aaron singing this ‘Recovery’ song, and so many fans were reaching out to me and reaching out to the producer, Aaron Pearce, and just begging us to release this album."
The album releases May 24, and proceeds will go to the benefit of the Kids Mental Health Foundation.
Carter Conrad also helped organize the Family Celebration Day on April 28, describing it as "the evolution of the first event that we threw for Aaron, the Songs for Tomorrow concert, and [it’s] is a day where families and kids and friends can all come and be involved and learn about our organization."
For her, continuing to highlight children’s mental health is important to protecting others from the tragic losses she and her family have faced.
WATCH: AARON CARTER’S TWIN SISTER ANGEL ON THE SHOCK OF LOSING HER SIBLINGS TO ADDICTION AND TRYING TO HELP THEM RECOVER
"We need to create a world where we have healthy conversations with our children, where there is structure and where there is discipline, but where kids have their innocence. I look back at what happened to Aaron, and he was working like an adult throughout his childhood. And really, as parents and caregivers, we really need to protect our child's innocence."
When it comes to her own 4-year-old daughter, Carter Conrad is focused on providing the kind of structure and discipline she felt she lacked in her own childhood.
"I hope that she will go to college, maybe become something else. And if she does have a gift, then we would have crossed that road at a much older age. But right now it's really about school. It's really about creating social skills. It's really about having fun and having your innocence and creating memories with me and my husband and our family."