ABC/Frank OckenfelsAJ McLean is opening up about his 20-year battle with addiction.
The 42-year-old Backstreet Boys star and Dancing with the Stars contestant revealed to Good Morning America what happened when he first did drugs.
“The first time I tried drugs was literally an hour before my call time to ‘The Call’ video shoot,” McLean recently told GMA‘s Will Reeve. “I was off the walls.”
The singer also said he kept his addiction a secret until his behavior began affecting his band.
“When the boys kind of caught on, I missed out on rehearsal,” McLean said. “They basically broke into my house, and they dumped ice water on me while I was passed out in my bed.”
“Everybody started to catch on,” he added. “I wasn’t me anymore, you know, I was just living a lie.”
Eleven months ago, McLean says he hit rock bottom after a trip to Las Vegas.
“I was never sober. Not for a second,” McLean said. “And the turning point for me was when I came back home, my wife could smell it on my breath and my youngest of my two daughters would not sit with me.”
McLean said he’s been sober since that day and he’s working with a program and a sponsor.
“There’s too much to live for today — my beautiful children, my amazing wife, my career, my brothers,” McLean said. “I’ve never felt more grounded than I do today.”
By GMA Team
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