Should Nick Carter build on his early promise and capture the Mirror Ball trophy as champion on the new season of Dancing with the Stars, it’s a good bet he won’t celebrate by going off on a bender. Where the Backstreet Boys heartthrob is concerned, that’s strictly “been there, done that.” And he’s not planning on going back there again.
Drug Demons, Booze Benders & Back Again! Why Backstreet Boy Nick Carter’s Dark Past Exposes New Chilling Details
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Photo credit: Splash News
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“I’m not perfect now. I still slip up when it comes to drinking. But I’m alive, and great things have happened for me in the last few years,” says Nick, 35, who admitted in his 2013 memoir, Facing the Music and Living to Tell About It, to abusing Ecstasy and cocaine—as well as drinking a bottle of vodka nightly—in his wildest years.
Photo credit: FameFly
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Nick claims he was destined for trouble from an early age, due to his parents, Robert and Jane (who divorced in 2004), being heavy drinkers and overbearing personalities.
Photo credit: AKM-GSI
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Three months of rehab, following a 2005 DUI conviction, helped Nick begin to get his life straightened out, and a source close to the singer tells Star, “Nick’s come a long way, and he’s really proud of the positive place he’s in now.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
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But Nick, his estranged parents and his siblings might be the most dysfunctional family in the showbiz. In fact, the family practically has a photo album of mug shots. Robert, Nick's dad, was accused of assaulting his second wife, but the charge was eventually dropped—as was a similar 2003 charge involving first wife Jane.
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Nick's mom, Jane, was found guilty of contempt of court during a court battle with her second hubby in 2008. She was also convicted of a battery charge in 2004 and had a DUI arrest in 2006.
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Nick’s singing sibling, Aaron Carter, was arrested after marijuana was found in his car during a traffic stop in Texas. He reportedly entered a rehab facility in 2011.
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Convicted of a DUI in 2003, sister, BJ also pled guilty in 2002 to disorderly conduct and entered a pretrial diversion program after being charged with pot possession in 2001.
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Robert’s second wife, Ginger, has multiple DUI arrests and a conviction for possession of a drug without a prescription. She’s currently in jail in Florida for violating probation.
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Backstreet Boys - In A World Like This Tour
So it's not hard to understand when Nick says it’s “family legend” that he was caught drinking in a liquor storage room when he was 2-years-old! “My parents always laughed at that,” says Nick. “I laughed too, for a while—and then I didn’t laugh at it anymore.” He began drinking heavily in his teens, then moved on to cocaine, Ecstasy and prescription-painkiller abuse.
Photo credit: Splash News
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Nick Carter And Jordan Knight In Concert
By the time the Backstreet Boys had become one of the biggest bands in the world, Nick had made a mess of himself—including being arrested at a Tampa nightclub on New Year’s Day in 2002 after drunkenly harassing other patrons and allegedly exposing himself.
Photo credit: Getty Images
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Macy's Passport Presents Glamorama
Three years after his 2005 DUI conviction and rehab, Nick finally took steps to clean himself up for good. His substance abuse had left him with cardiomyopathy—weakening of the heart muscle—and as Nick simply put it, “[I told myself] I don’t want to die.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
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Backstreet Boys: Show Em What You're Made Of Premieres in Hollywood
Tragically, Nick’s younger sister Leslie Ashton died of an apparent prescription drug overdose at age 25 in 2012. But Nick was able to break the stranglehold of his own abuse, and his 2014 marriage to fitness instructor Lauren Kitt has further strengthened his support system.
Photo credit: FameFly
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Nick Carter Visits Planet Hollywood Times Square
“Nick’s hopeful for the future,” says the source. “He knows he’s got a lot of living to do.” Nick adds, “That’s the exciting part about life. You can turn around and realize what you’re capable of.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
dwts-nick-carter-dark-past
Photo credit: Splash News
dwts-nick-carter-dark-past
“I’m not perfect now. I still slip up when it comes to drinking. But I’m alive, and great things have happened for me in the last few years,” says Nick, 35, who admitted in his 2013 memoir, Facing the Music and Living to Tell About It, to abusing Ecstasy and cocaine—as well as drinking a bottle of vodka nightly—in his wildest years.
Photo credit: FameFly
dwts-nick-carter-dark-past
Nick claims he was destined for trouble from an early age, due to his parents, Robert and Jane (who divorced in 2004), being heavy drinkers and overbearing personalities.
Photo credit: AKM-GSI
dwts-nick-carter-dark-past
Three months of rehab, following a 2005 DUI conviction, helped Nick begin to get his life straightened out, and a source close to the singer tells Star, “Nick’s come a long way, and he’s really proud of the positive place he’s in now.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
NOCAPTION
But Nick, his estranged parents and his siblings might be the most dysfunctional family in the showbiz. In fact, the family practically has a photo album of mug shots. Robert, Nick's dad, was accused of assaulting his second wife, but the charge was eventually dropped—as was a similar 2003 charge involving first wife Jane.
NOCAPTION
Nick's mom, Jane, was found guilty of contempt of court during a court battle with her second hubby in 2008. She was also convicted of a battery charge in 2004 and had a DUI arrest in 2006.
NOCAPTION
Nick’s singing sibling, Aaron Carter, was arrested after marijuana was found in his car during a traffic stop in Texas. He reportedly entered a rehab facility in 2011.
NOCAPTION
Convicted of a DUI in 2003, sister, BJ also pled guilty in 2002 to disorderly conduct and entered a pretrial diversion program after being charged with pot possession in 2001.
NOCAPTION
Robert’s second wife, Ginger, has multiple DUI arrests and a conviction for possession of a drug without a prescription. She’s currently in jail in Florida for violating probation.
Backstreet Boys - In A World Like This Tour
So it's not hard to understand when Nick says it’s “family legend” that he was caught drinking in a liquor storage room when he was 2-years-old! “My parents always laughed at that,” says Nick. “I laughed too, for a while—and then I didn’t laugh at it anymore.” He began drinking heavily in his teens, then moved on to cocaine, Ecstasy and prescription-painkiller abuse.
Photo credit: Splash News
Nick Carter And Jordan Knight In Concert
By the time the Backstreet Boys had become one of the biggest bands in the world, Nick had made a mess of himself—including being arrested at a Tampa nightclub on New Year’s Day in 2002 after drunkenly harassing other patrons and allegedly exposing himself.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Macy's Passport Presents Glamorama
Three years after his 2005 DUI conviction and rehab, Nick finally took steps to clean himself up for good. His substance abuse had left him with cardiomyopathy—weakening of the heart muscle—and as Nick simply put it, “[I told myself] I don’t want to die.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
Backstreet Boys: Show Em What You're Made Of Premieres in Hollywood
Tragically, Nick’s younger sister Leslie Ashton died of an apparent prescription drug overdose at age 25 in 2012. But Nick was able to break the stranglehold of his own abuse, and his 2014 marriage to fitness instructor Lauren Kitt has further strengthened his support system.
Photo credit: FameFly
Nick Carter Visits Planet Hollywood Times Square
“Nick’s hopeful for the future,” says the source. “He knows he’s got a lot of living to do.” Nick adds, “That’s the exciting part about life. You can turn around and realize what you’re capable of.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
