Melanie Martin is opening up about what she believes led to the late Aaron Carter’s “downfall.”
The Disney star’s posthumous documentary, Aaron Carter: The Little Prince of Pop, is now streaming on Hulu, and his on-again, off-again fiancée gets fully candid about her own theory on what kicked off the downward spiral that ended in his premature death at just 34 years old.
Related: Aaron’s Former Rep Is Now Questioning His Death
The couple welcomed their son, Prince, in 2021. However, a year later in September of 2022, Melanie’s mother was granted temporary custody after the parents struggled to maintain a stable home life for the young one. According to Melanie, this setback is what led to his eventual demise. She explained in the doc:
“At the end of ’22 his mental health was not all there. Aaron and I did lose custody of Prince. I think that the real downfall was him losing custody and not knowing what was going to happen. Basically, Aaron had a manic episode. We had a heated fight and it was lingering on for a few days.”
Melanie says the stress of everything in his life was too much for Aaron — and custody just brought it to a head:
“The uncertainty of what was going to happen…there was too much going on for him. Trying to rebuild his career, our relationship, he was thinking about family all the time. It was a lot for one person to handle, let alone someone who says they have mental health issues.”
This was all around the same time Aaron was suspected by Melanie and his manager of huffing, after he appeared to be doing so in an Instagram Live video. The I Want Candy singer insisted the footage wasn’t real… But his manager didn’t buy it, recalling:
“I kept pressing the issue, and eventually he owned that [it was real].”
The manager opened up more about Aaron’s “very deep, long addiction”:
“Aaron was doing an outpatient program, but that wasn’t cutting it. We were trying to find him some help and get him back on the wagon. We’re talking the real deal. He was terrified to do it. His excuse was, ‘I’ll do it, but I need to get my son back first.’ And my argument to him was, ‘I think the other way around would probably be the best way to go.’ He didn’t want to hear that. He was stuck in a very deep, long addiction that he battled his whole life. By the time he realized he needed to beat the monster, I think he realized the monster was a little too big.”
So, so sad.
Related: AJ McLean Talks Getting Aaron Into Rehab Prior To Death
Aaron tragically died in his bathtub on November 5. Just last month, his cause of death was ruled as an accidental drowning — after the pop star had been huffing compressed air cans and taking alprazolam, the generic form of Xanax, in the bath.
Melanie regained custody of Prince a month after Aaron’s death. She wants her late love and child’s father “to be remembered as the funny, smart, caring and forgiving human that he was to a lot of people.”
Each new detail in this case adds to its tragic nature. Our hearts continue to be with Melanie, Prince, and Aaron’s entire family.
If you or someone you know is experiencing substance abuse, help is available. Consider checking out the resources SAMHSA provides at https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline or check out StartYourRecovery.org
[Images via Aaron Carter & Melanie Martin/Instagram]
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