14 DAY TRIAL // In late ‘90s, when the Backstreet Boys were ruling over the charts and there was no bigger musical act than this one band, Nick Carter was a ladies’ favorite for his innocent looks, blonde locks and blue eyes. Much has changed for Nick since then, including a 10-year period in which he constantly struggled with a drug and alcohol addiction that he just recently managed to overcome, as the singer tells the latest issue of People magazine.
Nick has often been referred to as a troublemaker, but this term does not even come close to how he was during all this while, he shares with the mag. He was on a mission to self-destruct and nothing, not even a DUI arrest, bar brawls, a fading career and ballooning weight, could stand in the way of him and drugs and alcohol. Now, clean and sober, Nick is ready to share his past with the rest of the world.
While touring with the Backstreet Boys in spring last year, Carter scheduled an appointment with a cardiologist for a slight pain he felt in his chest. The night before he got the results, afraid of what they might reveal, he went on a binge. “I went out and just went nuts. I drank so much and I did a bunch of blow. I felt like I was trying to kill myself – because I didn’t want to get the results.” the 29-year-old singer explains for People.
When he did get the results, he found that he had a condition known as cardiomyopathy, which implied a weakening of the heart muscle and that could be fatal. It was then, Nick says, that he decided to kick his habits and start with the slate clean. “I don’t want to die. I don’t want to be that person people read about and think, ‘That’s sad that he couldn’t stop it and killed himself.’” Carter reveals.
Now, living clean of both addictions, healthy and with his body back in shape, Nick Carter describes his life as “totally awesome.” All that he hopes right now is that others learn from his example and sober up before it’s not too late.