Nick and Aaron Carter Were Raised in a Very Chaotic Home — Their Parents Are Pretty Flawed

The disease of addiction is cunning, baffling, and powerful. It will dig its claws into your body during the times you feel your most balanced. That's when you have to pay attention to it the most. Your mind starts to tell you that perhaps you can handle a drink or a drug because after all, look at how great you feel. It conveniently ignores the reason why you feel so good: you aren't using.

For the Carter family, addiction has come knocking more than once. Aaron Carter drowned in a bathtub in November 2022 which was his official cause of death, although the medical examiner found drugs in his system. His sister Leslie overdosed a decade earlier in 2012 at the age of 25 and in December 2023, Bobbie Jean Carter also died of a drug overdose. Nick and Aaron Carter's parents also had their fair share of troubles. Some were related to substances, some were not. Here's what we know.

Nick was a new man and he wanted the world to know about it. What better way to show off his clean living and healthier body than by chatting with People, which is what he did in February 2009. He discussed how his drinking and drug use had gotten out of control which ultimately led to a cardiomyopathy diagnosis.

While thinking about his life, Nick said alcohol had always been part of it. His parents, Jane and Robert (Bob) Carter, owned a bar called the Yankee Rebel in Jamestown, N.Y., where he and his siblings were raised. "If you want me to be honest, I had my first drink when I was 2 years old," he shared. Nick went on to say that his parents were always fighting, which forced the kids to choose sides. When Nick joined the Backstreet Boys in 1993 at age 13, everything changed.

The money was good but their home life was on a steady decline. Jane and Bob divorced in March 2003 and almost immediately after, Aaron accused his mother of stealing over $100,000 from him, per TODAY. In December of that year, Aaron severed ties with Jane who denied the "allegations that she mishandled the pop star’s funds."

A month after these allegations came to light, Jane was arrested for something else altogether. EastValley.com reported that Jane was arrested for attacking Bob's new girlfriend. She allegedly broke into the home they shared, crept into their bedroom, and dragged Ginger Elrod out of bed by her hair. Jane then proceeded to assault Ginger. She was arrested and charged with battery, per People.

Around the same time as the attack, but unrelated to it, Bob was being sued for libel and breach of contract by an entertainment manager by the name of Eliot Weisman. He claimed that after introducing Bob to William Morris Agency, he was cut out of the deal. As such, Eliot was "seeking almost $75,000 and management fees."

When Aaron was arrested for marijuana possession in February 2008, Bob told People that he was "hurt and betrayed, because I see that everything wasn’t what I thought it was." Bob was under the impression that Aaron was en route to his house because his new managers had convinced the pop star that his father was the reason why he was broke. "It’s not true," said Bob. "I don’t live off Aaron’s money."

Variety reported that Bob passed away May 16, 2017, at the age of 65. Nick confirmed his passing in a tweet where he wrote, "I am heartbroken to share the news that our father, Robert, passed away last night." He then added, "While we learn more about the cause of death, and begin the grieving process, we ask that our privacy be respected at this difficult time."

Clearly grieving from the loss of her second child a year prior, Jane released photos of Aaron's death scene in March 2023 and "called for an investigation," per Local10.com. In a now-deleted Facebook post, she wrote, "I want to share these death scene photos with you all because the coroner wrote it off as an accidental drug overdose." Jane also said, "They never investigated it as a possible crime scene because of his addiction past."

Nine months after that Facebook post, Bobbie Jean died. Jane then adopted her daughter Bella. According to People, Jane asked for the "sympathetic to say a prayer for my precious eight-year-old granddaughter Bella, who previously lost her father and is now also left without her mother." Jane had also struggled with addiction throughout her life.