Nick Carter Still ‘Processing’ Brother Aaron’s Death at 34 Nearly 1 Year Later

Nick Carter is still struggling to come to terms with younger brother Aaron Carter's death.

In an interview with E! News published Friday, the Backstreet Boys singer opened about his journey of grief and why he's still trying "to make sense" of the whole situation a year later.

"It's still unbelievable to me," Nick said of Aaron's death. "When I think back and I get to these holidays, these are moments and milestones and times that I've actually shared with my brother and my family. Even though I'm sharing it with my family now, there's times where I sit by myself and say to myself, 'This is unbelievable.'"

"I'm still processing the whole situation and trying to make sense of it — because it hasn't ... No matter what he and I had gone through in our lives, we always were able to make amends, always were able to get back to that place — and now I can't anymore and it hurts," he added.

Aaron publicly struggled with mental health and drug abuse throughout his life. On Nov. 5, 2022, the former teen pop star was found drowned in the bathtub at his home in Lancaster, Calif. He was 34 years old, and his death was deemed accidental.

Since the death of his brother, Nick said he's been leaning heavily on his wife, Lauren Kitt Carter, and their three children: Odin, Saoirse and Pearl.

"My children are my everything," he said. "If I lost everything, if I wasn't a Backstreet Boy anymore, if I didn't have the opportunity to still perform for people and entertain them — as long as they still had my kids and still had my family, I'd be okay. All this stuff on the outside doesn't matter to me."

Earlier this year, Nick and his sister, Angel (Aaron's twin), held a benefit concert called Songs for Tomorrow in honor of their late sibling. The concert raised money for On Our Sleeves, a foundation that aims to help children who are facing mental and emotional health struggles.