Overcoming obstacles. AJ McLean achieved fame as a member of the Backstreet Boys, however a fair proportion of challenges have come alongside together with his worldwide success.
In 1992, the “Bigger than Life” performer auditioned for the boyband and have become the primary official member of BSB. He was later joined by Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, Kevin Richardson and Brian Littrell. Following their formation, the musical group rose to fame all through the 90s and early 2000s.
Regardless of the success, McLean has battled his personal private demons from the age of twenty-two. Throughout an October 2020 interview with Good Morning America, the “Form Of My Coronary heart” crooner confessed he tried cocaine for the primary time whereas on the set of BSB’s music video for “The Name.”
“The primary time I attempted medication was actually an hour earlier than my name time to ‘The Name’ video shoot,” he recalled to GMA‘s Will Reeve. “I used to be off the partitions.”
McLean’s bandmates seen a change in his habits when he began to skip rehearsals and so they intervened.
“They mainly broke into my home, and so they dumped ice water on me whereas I used to be handed out in my mattress,” McLean instructed GMA on the time. “Everyone began to catch on. I wasn’t me anymore, you already know. I used to be simply residing a lie.”
All through his decades-long battle, McLean has gone to rehab on a number of events and he has admitted to overdosing twice. Whereas competing on Dancing With the Stars in 2020, the “Everyone” artist credited his then-wife, Rochelle McLean, for staying by his aspect by means of his darkest occasions. (AJ and Rochelle tied the knot in 2011 however separated in March 2023. The twosome share two daughters, Elliott and Lyric, who have been born in 2012 and 2017, respectively.)
“My spouse means every thing to me as does the truth that she’s been right here nonetheless, to this present day, with me after all of the unhealthy issues I’ve finished in my life which have harm folks — particularly her,” he wrote in an unique weblog put up for Us Weekly on the time. “She’s all the time seen the great in me and seen previous — as laborious as it could be to see previous — all of the unhealthy stuff I did once I was ingesting and utilizing medication. However issues are one of the best they’ve ever been at present, and I couldn’t ask for the rest.”
A number of months later, AJ celebrated his first anniversary of being substance-free.
“I’m gonna be one-year sober tomorrow, which is insane,” the “Give up Taking part in Video games” artist mentioned on a December 2020 episode of his “Fairly Messed Up” podcast. “So long as I’m preserving my aspect of the road clear, I can’t fear about preserving your aspect of the road clear. And every thing really labored itself out. I really feel a lot better.”
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Maintain scrolling to see AJ’s ups and downs over time:
