Backstreet Boys star AJ McLean has lifted the lid on his battle with drug addiction and revealed he ‘dodged a huge bullet’ amid the fentanyl crisis in the US.

The I Want It That Way singer, 47, had struggled with debilitating addiction for two decades before recovering in 2019.

In an interview with Lulu, 76, for The Lulu Podcast: Turning Points, AJ explained that things could have been a lot worse when he relapsed several years ago had the fentanyl situation been as bad as it is now.

He said: ‘Luckily for me I dodged a huge bullet because the fentanyl crisis hadn’t escalated to where it is now, but it was happening, it was out there, but it wasn’t as much common knowledge as it is today.’

The star then recalled a night out in Florida which changed things for him, prompting another attempt at recovery. 

He said: ‘The biggest turning point for me was three and a half years ago. I was doing a show in Miami on my own with a friend of mine and I went out that night. I went hard. 

Backstreet Boys singer AJ McLean lifted the lid on his battle with drug addiction and revealed how he ‘dodged a huge bullet’ amid the fentanyl crisis in the US (pictured in April)

In an interview with Lulu, 76, for The Lulu Podcast: Turning Points, AJ explained that things could have been a lot worse (pictured on Thursday)

‘And at that point in my life, I had taken all the dealers out of my phone, so I didn’t know anybody in Miami – I’m hanging out with some random people. 

‘One thing led to another. I got drunk, ended up doing drugs. It could have killed me. It didn’t for whatever reason, but it could have. But when I flew home the next day, as most addicts do, we try to mask it.’

AJ explained that the fallout from his relapse was when he realised he needed to get serious about getting sober. 

‘I drank a c**p tonne of coffee and tried breath mints and all this stuff,’ he said. 

‘But my wife already knew and was just waiting for me to be honest, which was my biggest problem for years – being honest with anyone about it because I was trying to make it work. And of course, as we know, it worked until it didn’t.’

The star split from his wife Rochelle DeAnna McLean in 2024 after 13 years of marriage. They share two children Elliot and Lyric.  

AJ continued: ‘But when I got home, my oldest was at dance class, my youngest was home. I walked up to give her a hug and she wouldn’t give me a hug. And I was like, “what’s going on babe?” And she’s like, “I don’t know, you don’t smell like my daddy”.

‘And that was it. Like the biggest light bulb in the world went off and I was like, “what are you doing? Why are you still doing this?” 

‘The next day I went back to a meeting, and I have been sober ever since, but this time is different. This time I’m doing what has been suggested. I’m going my 12 steps. I’m showing up.’

AJ sH๏τ to fame with the Backstreet Boys in the Nineties (L-R Brian Littrell, Nick Carter, Kevin Richardson, A.J. and Howie Dorough in 2001) 

In his chat with Lulu (pictured) AJ also insisted that his children had ‘never seen me drunk or high’ and ‘never will’

The star split from his wife Rochelle DeAnna McLean in 2024 after 13 years of marriage (pictured in 2016).They share two children Elliot and Lyric  

The singer previously admitted his Backstreet Boys bandmates ‘broke into’ his house to stage an intervention to deal with his drug and alcohol addiction.

AJ said in 2020 that his longtime friends took dramatic measures after realising how debilitating AJ’s addiction had become, sharing his story during Good Morning America.

‘When the boys kind of caught on, I missed out on rehearsal,’ the star said. ‘They basically broke into my house, and they dumped ice water on me while I was pᴀssed out in my bed.’

Though he tried to hide his issues, AJ said: ‘Everybody started to catch on. 

‘I wasn’t me anymore, you know, I was just living a lie,’ the star – who had been coping with addiction for 20 years – added.

AJ admitted that during his rock bottom he was ‘never sober, not for a second’. 

In 2023, he revealed he attempted to help Aaron Carter get sober ahead of his death, which ruled an accident as a result of drowning due to gas and drug effects.

Five months following the late pop star’s pᴀssing, at age 34, the Backstreet Boys alum opened up about checking his former bandmate Nick Carter’s younger brother into rehab in 2017.

He previously said: ‘I was introduced to cocaine literally the night that we sH๏τ the video for The Call,’ a 2000 Backstreet Boys single (pictured)

In 2023, he revealed he attempted to help Aaron Carter get sober ahead of his death, which ruled an accident as a result of drowning due to gas and drug effects (pictured in 2022) 

Read More Backstreet Boys singer AJ McLean reveals marriage to wife Rochelle is OVER after one year separation: ‘With deep love and respect’

‘Aaron reached out to me, asked me for help,’ the father-of-two, who is more than a year and a half sober, recalled in a preview for the upcoming documentary Aaron Carter: The Little Prince of Pop.

The former Dancing With the Stars contestant proceeded to tell fans that he told Aaron: ‘Look, if you get on a plane, come out to L.A., I will make sure you get into treatment.’

To his surprise, Aaron ‘showed up’.

‘I was shocked, but I was happy, and he checked into a treatment center in Malibu,’ the singer stated. ‘A couple days later, I talked to him, and then he kind of went off the map.’

‘I think it was maybe two weeks, so I called my friends at the treatment center, and they said he checked himself out,’ the West Palm Beach native continued.

In his chat with Lulu, the 00s icon also insisted that his children had ‘never seen me drunk or high’ and ‘never will’.

He then opened up on his self-esteem issues and explained that the only place he felt safe was on the stage.  

The Backstreet Boys are getting ready to release Millennium 2.0 in July before commencing a 21-day residency at Las Vegas’s sphere тιтled Into The Millennium.

AJ promised an entire rendition of their classic Millennium album but that the band also had ‘tricks up our sleeve’. 

For confidential help and support with drink and drugs problems in the UK talk to FRANK on 0300 123 6600 

In the US contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) at 1-800-662-HELP (4357)