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Tag: AJ McLean

  • Backstreet Boy AJ McLean Discusses Addiction, Sobriety

    Backstreet Boy AJ McLean Discusses Addiction, Sobriety

    “To be 41 and still be sitting here talking to you is a miracle within itself.”

    Boy band legends Backstreet Boys are back with a new album, DNA, a new tour in support of it, and a Grammy nomination for the single “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.”

    As the band looks back on their career, AJ McLean is also looking back on the substance abuse they’ve suffered in the past.

    As he told NPR, “I just turned 41. To be 41 and still be sitting here talking to you is a miracle within itself. With drugs and alcohol and all these things that I’ve had to overcome will forever be a daily struggle.”

    McLean has been open with the public about his struggles for years, adding, “We’ve always prided ourselves on just being honest with our fans and being honest with each other. That is probably one of the biggest reasons why we’ve been together for almost 26 years. We’re family, we’ve seen the highs and lows with each other…We’ve literally lived lives together – good, bad or indifferent.”

    McLean has taken trips to rehab in 2001, 2002 and 2011 for depression and alcoholism, and he admitted to relapsing in 2018. As he told People, “It’s no secret that this is a disease, and that it’s a daily struggle…It will win if you don’t take care of yourself.”

    McLean also renewed his fight to stay sober after the overdose death of rapper Mac Miller last year. “With what recently happened with Mac Miller, people need to really understand how serious addiction is. It’s a huge killer and you’ve just got to surround yourself with the right people, go to your meetings and get a sponsor. It’s a marathon, not a race.”

    Like many who’ve struggled with addiction, McLean’s family has also been a big saving grace for him in his recovery. “They’re my everything,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “Them and my wife. So, I would never in a million years want to let them see me drunk or high or dead or in jail. I want to talk both my girls down the aisle…when they’re 35!”

    McLean also posted on Instagram that he’s going to be cutting down on social media, which he says can be “overconsuming.” Again, family has been McLean’s focus, not allowing “social media [to] control me and my time – my valuable time with my kids especially.”

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • AJ McLean Talks Recent Relapse, Recovery & Self-Care

    AJ McLean Talks Recent Relapse, Recovery & Self-Care

    “I have no shame in saying, I’ve relapsed over the past year. It’s no secret that this is a disease, and that it’s a daily struggle.”

    The Backstreet Boys are wrapping up their Las Vegas residency and are gearing up for their world tour in 2019, which will hit 27 countries—the boy band’s largest arena tour in 18 years.

    AJ McLean, who is in recovery, is up for the challenge. The Backstreet Boy has been to rehab in 2001, 2002 and 2011 for depression and alcohol use, according to People.

    Over the years, he’s learned a few hard lessons about recovery.

    “Sometimes, you’re just going to have the worst days possible,” he said. It’s a daily struggle. “You have to make it a lifestyle, you truly do. It doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun, and can’t be yourself.”

    Seeing recovery as a journey and not a destination also helps McLean stay grounded. “It’s not like, okay, I’m sober, it’s done. I’ll never drink again. No. You have to work at it daily.”

    By maintaining this mindset, McLean is not ashamed to acknowledge his mistakes as a person in recovery. “Look, I have no shame in saying, I’ve relapsed over the past year. It’s no secret that this is a disease, and that it’s a daily struggle.”

    As a father of two young daughters, McLean says it’s easy to forget about his own needs. “You know, it’s interesting about sobriety with family and with kids—you still have to put yourself first, and that’s been a real big struggle for me.”

    But it’s important to balance his family’s needs with his own, McLean says. “It will win if you don’t take care of yourself.”

    “Because I’m still very codependent, I’m Mr. People Pleaser… I want to make sure everyone’s cool,” he said. “[But] if you do that too often, then you forget about taking care of yourself, and you do tend to get lost in the sauce. And that’s happened to me numerous times.”

    After the death of Mac Miller in September, McLean mourned the loss of the young rapper. “I met him a couple of times at radio shows and he was a stand-up guy,” he told Entertainment Tonight in a previous interview. “You would never know that he had a problem—but a lot of people had no idea that I had a problem. Addicts can hide it pretty well, so all my condolences go to his family and friends. He’s another one gone too soon.”

    The Backstreet Boys’ upcoming 10th album is due on January 25, 2019. Then in May, they will embark on their DNA World Tour.

    View the original article at thefix.com

  • Backstreet Boy AJ McLean Inspired to Fight Addiction After Mac Miller’s Passing

    Backstreet Boy AJ McLean Inspired to Fight Addiction After Mac Miller’s Passing

    The pop star is throwing his weight behind a new line of home products made to help those struggling with addiction.

    The boy band singer is driven to stay sober and fight addiction with a new line of recovery products.

    Singer AJ McLean is leaning in to the fight against addiction following Mac Miller’s death. Having battled his own addictions in the past, McLean knows Miller’s struggles all too well.

    “I met him a couple of times at radio shows and he was a stand-up guy,” McLean told ET. “You would never know that he had a problem — but a lot of people had no idea that I had a problem. Addicts can hide it pretty well, so all my condolences go to his family and friends. He’s another one gone too soon.”

    McLean himself has two young daughters as motivation to stay sober, but Miller’s passing has given McLean a renewed vigor in combating addiction. He’s throwing his weight behind a new line of home products made to help those struggling with substance abuse, with a special focus on opioids.

    “With what recently happened with Mac Miller, people need to really understand how serious addiction is,” he remarked. “It’s a huge killer and you’ve just got to surround yourself with the right people, go to your meetings and get a sponsor. It’s a marathon, not a race. I’m getting involved with a pharmaceutical company that is going to be putting out some amazing products. One is an at-home opioid detox kit, non-narcotic because one of the biggest [causes of] deaths in the entire world right now is based on opioids.”

    In 2001, the Backstreet Boys stopped their Black & Blue tour to allow McLean to go to rehab for alcohol abuse treatment. He’s been open about his recovery process, fessing up to having relapsed on booze in the past during his recovery. To this day, McLean still does his best to attend at least five Alcoholics Anonymous meetings per week.

    These days McLean isn’t just staying sober for himself–he has his wife and two daughters, five-year-old Ava and one-year-old Lyric, to look after.

    “Having a family and looking my two girls in the eye every single night and every single morning —  they’re my lifeline,” he admitted. “They’re my everything. Them and my wife. So, I would never in a million years want to let them see me drunk or high or dead or in jail. I want to walk both my girls down the aisle … when they’re 35! As long as I can hold off on boys, I’m going to hold off on boys!”

    McLean’s schedule is pretty busy these days. Besides raising two daughters and backing a range of recover products, he’s also wrapping up work on a new Backstreet Boys album while also working on a solo country record.

    “I have been super busy trying to finish off my solo record, and this past week — I think, hopefully — we finished the Backstreet Boys record!” he told ET. “So, we can have it come out in October as planned, then tour around the world next year.”

    View the original article at thefix.com