Nick Carter didn’t join the rest of the Backstreet Boys for an interview on This Morning following the death of his brother Aaron Carter, as Alison Hammond sent her love to the singer.
Last week, it was confirmed that Aaron had died at the age of 34, with the musician’s representatives saying in a statement: ‘We are extremely saddened and shocked to confirm the passing of Aaron Carter today. At the moment his cause of death is being investigated.
‘We ask that you give the family time and they will have more information when available. We cannot express the outpouring of love coming in.’
Nick, 42, paid tribute to his younger brother, saying that his heart was ‘broken’ by his loss.
While Nick joined the rest of his band at their tour show in London, becoming tearful on stage while a photo montage of Aaron was shown on screen, he did not join the group when they were interviewed by Alison on This Morning.
In the pre-recorded interview, the presenter asked the group of four about their DNA World Tour, as they shared what it’s been like to return to London and spoke about the recent release of their 10th studio album, A Very Backstreet Christmas.
At the end of the interview, Alison joined them for a round of karaoke, as they all sang along to Wham!’s 1984 hit Last Christmas, before confetti rained down on them.
When the camera transitioned back to the ITV studio, Alison was sitting next to her co-host Dermot O’Leary as she shared a message of condolence for Nick.
‘That was lovely, and of course we’re sending all our love to Nick Carter who wasn’t able to be there for family reasons, as you all know, but gave the boys his blessing to go ahead with the interview,’ she said.
She then added that the Backstreet Boys’ festive album, which is out now, is ‘fantastic’.
In the tribute Nick shared online in honour of Aaron, he shared a series of throwback pictures of them together throughout the years, all the way back from when they were children.
‘My heart is broken. Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded,’ he wrote in the caption.
‘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.
‘I will miss my brother more than anyone will ever know. I love you Chizz. Now you can finally have the peace you could never find here on earth….God,Please take care of my baby brother.’
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV.