
AJ McLean and Joey Fatone aren’t just members of legendary boy bands — they’re also pals. So when AJ needed some help dealing with the prospect of his two daughters beginning to date, he turned to Joey for advice.
Appearing on Trisha Paytas‘ podcast, Just Trish, AJ said that “apparently” his 8-year-old daughter, Lyric, “has a boyfriend,” which he thinks is silly. But his other daughter, Elliott, is turning 13 this year, which AJ calls “terrifying” since dating is presumably right around the corner. That’s when he turned to Joey, whose daughters are 14 and 22.
“He gave me the best advice,” AJ shared. “So I told my oldest, I said, ‘When you do go on your first official date, whether it’s to the movies or it’s the mall, and the boy comes to pick you up as he should, I want you to say these exact words to him before you leave my house.’ She’s like, ‘What?'”
“I said, ‘You need to tell him to his face, whatever you do to me, my dad’s gonna do to you,'” AJ said. “Simple as that. And hopefully, put the fear of God in him.”
AJ then joked that he could scare the unlucky boy by telling him, “Hey. See all these tattoos? I got these in prison.” But of course, AJ notes, “All he has to do is Google me … dammit!”
Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.