Aaron Carter's Sister Angel Says His Legacy "Was More Than the Last Few Years of His Life"

Angel Carter Conrad isn't the lone 1 keeping her duplicate member Aaron Carter's representation close.

Her 5-year-old daughter Harper with hubby Corey Conrad "knows Aaron is successful heaven, I archer her that," Angel told E! News' Francesca Amiker in an exclusive interview. During a caller thrust to school, "she said to me, 'You know, Mommy, I privation to archer you something. Aaron, helium lives successful my heart, and helium talks to maine successful my heart.'"

Angel was grateful to beryllium wearing sunglasses.

"I conscionable started crying," she recalled, "and I didn't privation her to spot me. But she said that: 'Aaron lives successful my heart.'"

It's been astir 18 months since Aaron was recovered dormant successful his bathtub astatine the property of 34, the coroner ruling his decease an accidental drowning with the effects of alprazolam (sold arsenic Xanax) and the compressed gas difluoroethane listed arsenic secondary causes. 

And Angel, who arsenic an ambassador for the Kids Mental Health Foundation presided implicit a Family Celebration Day April 28, is determined to marque definite her member is remembered for much than conscionable his struggles.

After the Songs for Tomorrow payment concert she and Lance Bass hosted past twelvemonth for mental wellness awareness successful Aaron's honor, a instrumentality of the "I Want Candy" vocalist got successful touch to accidental a friend was inspired to cheque into rehab a time aft the show.

"I'm conscionable truthful thankful that Aaron has touched truthful galore people's lives, and volition proceed to bash so," Angel said, "and I anticipation to beryllium a vas for that for him."

After helium died, "a occurrence lit wrong of maine to privation to proceed the speech astir intelligence health, and to interruption this stigma that surrounds it," she said. "Aaron had this fearfulness of talking astir his issues for truthful galore years. We ever wanted him to get the assistance that helium needed and to person an openness to speech astir it."

But portion Angel, who joined Corey in 2014, has an inspiring grip connected her grief—"I ever say, I'm amended contiguous than yesterday"—she started putting successful the enactment aboriginal connected to interruption the cycle of dysfunction and tragedy that has plagued her family.

Angel, 18 astatine the time, was the lone 1 who took the Backstreet Boys singer up connected his offer.

"It truly was a defining clip for me," she said. "I've been successful therapy ever since then, and I'm conscionable truthful thankful that I took that accidental and seized it, due to the fact that successful the agelong tally it truly did prevention me."

"There are times wherever I consciousness aggravated implicit things that person happened," she acknowledged. "But I person specified a heavy knowing present of the science down my household dynamic and it is truthful deep-rooted. This is simply a generational dysfunction issue. And erstwhile Aaron died, I said to myself, This stops today. We are not going to unrecorded similar this anymore. The children of this household are going to not unrecorded successful this anymore. And we are going to interruption the cycle."

In summation to Angel and Corey's girl Harper, the adjacent procreation includes Aaron and Melanie Martin's lad Prince, 2, Leslie and hubby Mike Ashton's girl Alyssa Jane, 13, and Bobbie Jean's daughter Bella, 8. Nick shares son Odin, 8, and daughters Saoirse, 4, and Pearl, 3, with woman Lauren Kitt Carter.

Prince, who was 11 months aged erstwhile his dada died, "is a truly smart, vibrant small kid," Angel shared. "He has a batch of enactment from his household and from his mom, and we truly anticipation to thatch the kids—in the Carter household and successful beingness successful general—that atrocious things are going to hap and astatine the extremity of the time it is simply a prime to find the bully successful each situation."

Part of their metallic lining is The Recovery Album, a compilation of Aaron's performances owed retired May 24, with proceeds going to a spot the household acceptable up for Prince, arsenic good arsenic to the Kids Mental Health Foundation.

Angel said she loves being a portion of the organization particularly due to the fact that it focuses connected giving children the tools they request to woody with affectional upheaval earlier it happens.

"We don't telephone it preventing," she said. "We telephone it aboriginal involution for a reason, because if you commencement implementing alteration and steadfast conversations wrong the location from a young age, and truly listening to your children and being determination for them—being physically, emotionally, spiritually contiguous for your children—that's each your kids want."

One day, Angel said, erstwhile he's the close property she'll archer Prince "the truth, that Aaron was a blessed psyche and helium was a bully person."

And she knows her nephew volition larn the much upsetting truths astir his full household 1 day. "That's conscionable a given," she said. "But I anticipation that helium sees however important intelligence wellness is, and the captious enactment that we're doing creating these steadfast conversations, and that helium sees the acquisition successful each of this."

Ultimately, Angel added, "I privation to show the children successful my family—my daughter, my nieces and nephews—that these moments don't person to specify you."

Instead they person plentifulness of happier memories to look backmost on. Check retired immoderate of the family's champion moments.