Angel Carter Conrad: Family Dysfunction Fueled Siblings' Deaths

Angel Carter Conrad, twin sister of the late Aaron Carter, reveals that a challenging upbringing and generational addiction issues contributed to the tragic losses of her siblings.

Angel Carter Conrad, the twin sister of the late Aaron Carter and the younger sister of Backstreet Boys' Nick Carter, never intended to become a public figure. But after the tragic loss of Aaron, as well as her 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. 

"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.

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.

"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."

"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.

"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."

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.

"Growing up, I was the child that was the observer in my family. I was the mediator. I was always trying to get everybody