Nick Carter and his family have been in the spotlight for decades. But while the Backstreet Boys singer and his siblings’ lives have been filled success, they have also experienced multiple tragedies.
Nick is the oldest of five children of parents Jane Carter and the late Robert βBobβ Carter, followed by Bobbie Jean Carter, Leslie Carter, and twins Aaron Carter and Angel Carter Conrad.
Their family’s grief-stricken story, which includes three of the five siblings dying at a young age, is now being told by Angel in the two-part documentary βThe Carters: Hurts to Love You,β now streaming on Paramount+.
In a Q&A following a screening of the film, Angel told director Soleil Moon Frye and the audience that she and her siblings felt isolated as children and βlonely, not having anyone to talk to.β
β(Bad) things were happening in that home, and who did you turn to? There was nobody,β she said.
The siblings’ parents separated in March 2004, before finalizing their divorce the same year. Bob Carter died in May 2017 at the age of 65.
Bob Carter was also the father to more children from other relationships. In the documentary, Angel says that her father had a total of eight children. She also shares insight into her parents’ tumultuous relationship, which she says included a lot of fighting and drinking.
At one point in the film, Nick also reflects on his parents’ issues and how their problems affected his siblings. He says his and his late brother’s stardom changed their family.
βFame and money destroyed our family,β he says. βFive kids, weβre all thatβs left.β
βOur parents donβt define us. I know that. You know that,β Nick tells Angel. βUnfortunately, B.J., Aaron and Leslie, they did not know that. They had no idea that they could get out. They didnβt deserve it. They did not deserve the life that they got. They did not deserve what happened to them.β
The five Carter siblings briefly united almost two decades ago when they starred together in a short-lived E! reality series called βHouse of Carters.β The eight-episode show premiered in October 2006 and was canceled after one season. Footage from the show, including multiple arguments between the siblings, is included in the new documentary.
Tragically, three of the five Carter siblings have died, with only Nick and Angel still living.
Learn more about Nick and his siblings, below.
Nick Carter
Born Jan. 28, 1980, Nick is the eldest child of Jane and the late Bob Carter. The singer has previously stated that he was estranged from his parents for a long time.
In the Backstreet Boys documentary βBackstreet Boys: Show Em What Youβre Made Of,β Nick visited his childhood home in Tampa, Florida, which he called βa house full of fear for me.β
He recalled frequently hearing his parents βscreaming at each otherβ during his childhood.
βThey would just constantly be drinking and fighting and weβd hear guns go off,β he told the rest of his bandmates. βNot shooting at each other, but they always fought over money.β
Nick said when he was young he wanted to be a provider for his family before things took a turn. βAre you looked at as a dollar sign now?β he said of his success. βBefore I was looked at as a sibling in my house.β
Nick, who was 13 when he joined BSB, said his mother gave him the option of being in the boy band or signing a contract to be on βThe Mickey Mouse Club.β
βI really had this choice between being a Mouseketeer, $50,000 contract, or doing this thing with Lou Pearlman and the Backstreet Boys,β Nick said. βMy mother gave me the choice. I donβt know why she left that decision up to an 11-year-old child, but it just kind of happened.β
Nick continues to be a part of the Backstreet Boys and will be celebrating the group’s 32-year anniversary as a boy band in April 2025. He has also embarked on a solo career and dabbled in acting.
He has been married to wife Lauren Kitt Carter since 2014. They share three children: son Odin, 8, and daughters Saoirse, 5, and Pearl, 3.
Bobbie Jean Carter
Jean and Bob Carter welcomed their first daughter together, Bobbie Jean βB.J.β Carter, on Jan. 12, 1982.
In βHouse of Carters,β Nick said Bobbie Jean was βvery damagedβ after their parentsβ divorce, adding that their separation affected her βprobably worse than everybody else.β
Bobbie Jean said that she remembered her parents βconstantly fightingβ during an interview on βThe Dr. Keith Ablow Showβ in 2006. She said after Nick became famous, her parents were βso focusedβ on money.
According to TMZ, she was a wardrobe stylist and makeup artist during her brother Aaron’s tours in the early 2000s. Bobbie Jean led a private life after the E! reality show ended.
She was arrested in June 2023 in Florida for allegedly stealing from a Hobby Lobby, according to theΒ Miami Herald. While held in the store’s loss prevention office, and upon police arriving at the scene, she threw a container that contained contents that tested positive for fentanyl under the desk, according to the newspaper, citing an arrest affidavit.
Hernando County court records showed she was charged with retail theft and possession of a controlled substance.
Bobbie Jean died on Dec. 23, 2023, in Florida at the age of 41. According to the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner, her death was ruled accidental. The cause of death wasΒ intoxication by the combined effects of fentanyl and methamphetamine, according to the official report obtained by E! News. She was a mom to daughter Bella, who was 8 years old at the time of her death, per People.
Following news of her death, Nick posted a childhood photo of him and Bobbie Jean holding hands, writing, βIt may take a lifetime to fully process the loss my family has endured over the years β most recently, with the sudden passing of our sister Bobbie Jean. I am completely heartbroken. Thank you for all your love and kind words. We are reminded again that life is precious, fleeting and to cherish the time we have with the ones we love. I know she is finally at peace with God. I love you BJ.β
Leslie Carter
The Carter family welcomed Leslie Carter on June 6, 1986.
Leslie was an aspiring singer, with her song βLike Wowβ featured on the βShrekβ soundtrack in 2001. She also formed a band called The Other Half, which only lasted a couple of years.
According to E! News, she got married to Mike Ashton in 2008 and welcomed daughter Alyssa in 2011.
Just like her siblings, Leslie spoke about the hardships they endured as a family, saying in the same βThe Dr. Keith Ablow Showβ interview that she βlostβ her parents after they became consumed with Nick and Aaronβs fame.
LeslieΒ died in 2012Β at age 25 of an overdose of prescription medication. She was the first of the five siblings to die unexpectedly.
During a 2013 βDr. Philβ appearance, Nick told Dr. Phil McGraw that his family blamed him for his sisterβs death. Nick missed Leslieβs funeral because he had a scheduled concert. At the time, Nick said his dad called him to tell him Leslie had died, and βimmediately the conversation turned into not about her death and not about the actual passing and what had occurred, (but) more about themselves. … And then I started to get blamed by the rest of the family.β
He later dedicated his book, βFacing the Music and Living to Talk About It,β to Leslie.
Aaron Carter
Aaron and twin sister Angel were born on Dec. 7, 1987.
A pop star just like his big brother, Aaron rose to fame in the late ’90s and early 2000s after opening up for the Backstreet Boys. He then released hits like βI Want Candy,β βAaronβs Partyβ and βIβm All About You.β
He also did some acting, starring in the film βPopstar,β and appearing in βSupercross,β β7th Heaven,β βSabrina the Teenage Witchβ and βLizzie McGuire.β He famously dated Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan, and eventually welcomed a son, Prince, in 2021 with then-fiancΓ©e Melanie Martin.
Aaron died on Nov. 5, 2022, at the age of 34. His cause of death was accidental drowning after taking alprazolam (generic Xanax) and inhaling spray cleaning duster, according to officials.
The singer was open about his struggles with mental health and substance abuse over the years. During a 2019 appearance on “The Doctors,” he said he was diagnosed with multiple personality disorder, schizophrenia, acute anxiety and manic depression. Aaron also faced some legal troubles, including a 2017 arrest where he was charged with a DUI and marijuana possession. According to TMZ, he struck a plea deal and received no jail time but was ordered to remain on probation for 12 months, complete 40 hours of community service, attend DUI risk reduction classes and pay court fees.
In 2019, Aaron’s twin Angel and Nick filed a restraining order against the former teen idol. In aΒ statement on then-Twitter, they said they had βno choiceβ after Aaronβs βrecent confession that he harbors thoughts and intentions of killing (Nickβs) pregnant wife and unborn child.β
Following his death, Nick reflected on his βcomplicated relationshipβ with his late brother in his Instagram tribute.
βMy heart is broken,β he wrote. βEven though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded. I have always held on to the hope that he would somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed.β
βSometimes we want to blame someone or something for a loss, 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,β Nick continued. βNow you can finally have the peace you could never find here on earthβ¦.God, Please take care of my baby brother.β
Angel Carter Conrad
Aaron’s twin sister, Angel, grew up wanting to be a model. The siblings discussed her modeling aspirations in “House of Carters.” But since the show, she has mostly lived her life out of the public eye.
She is currently an ambassador for theΒ Kids Mental Health Foundation and advocates for mental health awareness. Angel married Corey Conrad in February 2014 and welcomed daughter Harper in 2019.
In April 2024, after Aaron’s death, she told E! News that when they finished filming βHouse of Carters,β βNick sat us all down in the living room, and he said to us, βWho wants to go to therapy? I will pay for you to go to therapy.ββ
She said she was the only one of her three other siblings who accepted Nick’s offer.
βIt really was a defining time for me,β she said. βIβve been in therapy ever since then, and Iβm just so thankful that I took that opportunity and seized it, because in the long run it really did save me.β
In March 2025, Angel shared on Instagram that she was working with actor and director Soleil Moon Frye on the Paramount+ documentary βThe Carters: Hurts to Love You.β
Angel called the project βdeeply personalβ and βa true labor of love for my family.β
βSharing our story is an act of hope, meant to bring healing and peace to others who have experienced similar struggles. You are not alone,β she wrote on Instagram, alongside the filmβs trailer.
βI come from a place of deep love for my family and my twin brother, Aaron. I hope that we can all learn to lead with more love, understanding, and compassion, especially when it comes to people struggling with addiction,β she continued, adding that she was βeternally grateful to everyone who helped bring this film to life and understood how important it was to tell our story with authenticity and truth.β
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