What Aaron Carter's Final Year Of Life Was Like

This article includes mentions of addiction and domestic violence. 

Long before Justin Bieber came along, there was another child star who ruled the charts and made people dance to his catchy tunes. Aaron Carter started singing when he was seven years old and within a few years, he shot to stardom with songs like "I Want Candy" and "Aaron's Party." Soon, he was on tour with young and ultra-popular Britney Spears, releasing albums that would be instant hits, and dipping his toes into acting.

Carter's childhood career was like a colorful dream, though his home was not always a happy place. The pop star's adult life was also laden with struggles that would plague him as he aged. Per TMZ, the singer's house sitter found him unresponsive in his bathtub on November 6, 2022, and he was pronounced dead when police showed up. He was 34. The outlet said there were no signs of foul play. TMZ also reported that investigators found "multiple cans of compressed air" in Aaron's house following his tragic death. He had long struggled with his addiction to huffing, although he told the Daily Mail he had been sober for years. 

Carter was said to have been working on a sitcom called "Group" before his untimely demise. Per TMZ, the show's producer and writer, Brian Farmer, plans to release the pilot episode featuring Carter as a way to honor him. He was also working on a new album. It seems like the singer was keeping busy during his final year while simultaneously struggling with personal problems.

Aaron Carter might have spent a huge chunk of his young life misusing drugs, he was committed to leading a sober life. In a November 2 episode of "No Jumper" podcast, the host asked if he was California sober — an approach to sobriety that involves quitting substances such as methamphetamine, heroin, and alcohol and swapping them for marijuana or other "less harmful" drugs, per All Points North. Carter said he had been sober and his marijuana intake was low, adding, "I really believe in the Cali sober method. It's helped me. So I actually just hit five years clean."

Carter also admitted on the podcast that he took Xanax and everything was medically prescribed and legal. After his death, his brother, Nick Carter, paid an emotional tribute to him on Instagram, writing in part, "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. Sometimes we want to blame someone or something for a loss, but the truth is that addiction and mental illness is the real villain here."

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

During his final weeks, Aaron Carter was reportedly focused on making new music. Per TMZ, an album was in the works. His manager, Taylor Helgeson, told the outlet that the album would be a follow-up to his 2018 "Love" album. "Love 2" was shaping up to be an emotional project that would give fans insight into the singer's hardships, with Carter weaving details of his personal life into the lyrics.

In 2022, Carter released several songs, including "She Just Wanna Ride," "Blame It on Me," and "Scars." He specifically tweeted in September that he did not want "Scars" to be released. His posthumous album "Blacklisted" was released on November 7, 2022, and is available on streaming platforms. The album's producers, Morgan Matthews and John Wyatt Johnson, said in a statement: "We are incredibly sad about Aaron's untimely death and extend our deepest condolences to his loved ones. It was a pleasure and honor to work with him over the past year to produce Blacklisted." Johnson and Matthews expressed their disbelief over the fact that the album was his last, and they said they chose to release it a month prior to the record's planned debut on December 7, Aaron Carter's 35th birthday (via Broadway World).

On November 22, 2021, Aaron Carter became a father for the first time as he welcomed his son, Prince Carter, with his then-fiancee Melanie Martin. The singer revealed on a livestream (via Us Weekly) that Martin had suffered a miscarriage previously. Throughout his ups and downs with Martin, Carter was ecstatic to expand his family. "Prince is precious I love you son. Your mommy loves you as I drop tears on the phone," he shared on Instagram. Months later, he and Martin lost custody of their son following alleged domestic violence and concerns over drug misuse. Following the court's decision, Martin's mother got Prince's custody.

In an effort to win back his son, Carter sought professional help. Speaking to The U.S. Sun, the singer said he had begun an outpatient program at Lionrock Recovery and hoped to improve his relationship with Martin. As for concerns surrounding substance misuse, he said he was struggling only because of the triggers, but that hadn't relapsed. "Being a dad is the most important thing to me. Just being domesticated and civilized and adulting and taking care of my responsibilities," he said.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Aaron Carter and Melanie Martin's romance saw extreme highs and lows. They debuted their relationship on social media in January 2020. By March, Carter had tattooed her name on his face after she moved in with him (per Page Six). The duo seemed to be getting serious, but toward the end of March, Martin was taken into custody for alleged domestic violence, per ET. Carter and Martin called it quits after the incident, only to get back together three months later. In June 2020, Carter announced the couple's engagement with a photo of Martin wearing her ring on Instagram.

Merely a week after welcoming their first child together, Carter and Martin broke up again. They got back together in December 2021 but decided to separate two months later. They filed restraining orders against one another. Carter accused Martin of inflicting emotional and physical abuse, according to documents obtained by The Blast. Martin accused Carter of punching her in the ribs. Yet again, they seemed to have found their way back to each other in May 2022 and were interested in couple's counseling. "We decided that we want to be a family and love each other and treat each other with kindness and learn tools that can help us grow as a strong couple," they told The Blast.

In the November 2022 "No Jumper" podcast episode, Carter said, "We've had a hellacious year ... She had pretty bad postpartum depression." He added of their tough publicity against each other, "We both learned a valuable lesson. At least I did."

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

After breaking up with Melanie Martin in November 2021, Aaron Carter accused her of going behind his back to talk to his estranged family. The singer accused his family in a tweet, saying, "I have the most conniving deceiving family and Melanie has been lying to me the whole time communicating with my twin sister and the family members who tried to put me in prison and who tried to get a conservatorship on me in court." In a separate tweet, he said he was heartbroken after being lied to by Martin, adding, "There's more to the story [than] meets the eye."

Despite Carter's claims, a source close to his brother Nick and his family allegedly told E! News that it had been years since Nick made contact with Carter. "They do not speak and there is no conservatorship attempt happening. No one has any idea where Aaron is getting this from."

Days before his tragic passing, Aaron Carter was pulled over by cops for suspected DUI. As reported by TMZ, the singer was recklessly driving an RV in the Antelope Valley. When the law enforcement officers got the 911 call, they had no idea it was Carter. After pulling him over, they conducted field sobriety tests that concluded Carter was sober. The RV weaving on the road might have been due to the strong winds in the area, as TMZ noted. While the person who called the cops was anonymous, the outlet alleged that Melanie Martin was driving behind him.

Prior to the incident, fans were concerned for Carter when his screen went black during an Instagram live, and they suspected him of huffing, according to TMZ. Cops showed up at his door for a welfare check after they received a call. Carter later said he was merely messing with his fans and spraying air freshener. The cops didn't detect any sign of suspicious activity or drugs at his home.

During the November 2, 2022 episode of "No Jumper" podcast, Carter, who would have turned 35 on December 7, said he realized he was growing older and it was time he started behaving that way. He wanted to focus on his career and family. He also expressed his desire to get married and remain loyal to his fiancée, Melanie Martin. Speaking of fatherhood, he said he was responsible and talked about how his own father raised him.

Carter always said he would be a good father. In 2018, he told People that he wanted to have a lot of kids and be happy in life. "I want to have girls. Maybe it's because of all my sisters and being a mama's boy," he told the outlet. As he told People in 2020, "Family is most important to me."

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).