Aaron Carter Checks Into Rehab Amid News of His Losing Custody of 9-Month-Old Son
Aaron Carter claims he has lost custody of his 9-month-old son Prince and said he is beginning a month-long outpatient recovery program in Los Angeles. Carter, 34, told The U.S. Sun he wants to avoid a relapse after five years of sobriety. Carter recently reconciled with fiancée Melanie Martin, whose mother has custody of their son.
The singer told The Sun outside a grocery store, with Martin by his side, that he checked into Lionrock Recovery. He hopes it will keep him from falling off the wagon and stop smoking marijuana to help stabilize his relationship with Martin. Carter said he has spent $200,000 this year on care to foster a "fully functional family" with Martin.
Carter claims Martin's mother has custody of Prince under a court order in the interview, which was published after videos of him appearing "out of it" and asking for Xanax surfaced on social media. He denied having problems with prescription medication and opioids. However, he said there was "no reason to hide" his struggle with addiction.
"I haven't had any relapses or anything like that, it's just triggers are big right now for me [and] I want my son back," he told The Sun. "The main reason why I enrolled into Lionrock Recovery outpatient is to help with the weed." He claims he does not "need" to smoke marijuana and stopped growing marijuana himself, even though California and the Department of Children and Family Services never told him to.
"They never took away my guns, they never took away my regimented medications," he told The Sun. "Even in the court, the DCFS tried to mentally evaluate me, but the judge had one conversation with me and said, 'No, he doesn't need all that. I want to see him do this step, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.'"
Carter described his treatment as an "abstinence program" where he works with an individual counselor. The court suggested he attend but did not make it mandatory, he said. "I do group therapy, parenting classes, domestic violence classes, I got myself certified in CPR, just a lot of different things," Carter said. "It's new being a parent, but it's actually become really fun and exciting and given me a new chapter of my life. It's been amazing."
Carter hopes the program will help him get his "son back" after a tumultuous few months with Martin. Earlier this year, Martin accused him of fracturing three of her ribs during an argument, allegations he later denied. Martin later told followers on Instagram that the "untrue" claims were made up amid her struggle with postpartum depression.
"We went through a time where we were just being immature and just using the internet to try to get back at each other and just being immature people. We deactivated both of our social medias," Carter said of their social media use during their relationship struggles. "First I want us to figure out what we are doing right now. I'd like to get married, move to another place," Martin also told The Sun.
As for the videos that showed him slurring his words and appearing drunk or high, he claims these have nothing to do with drug use. He blamed them on insomnia. "I'll take my medication for sleep and then I'll go on a live stream, and I'll get really sleepy," he said. "I should be going to sleep but sometimes I'll stay up a little later than I should." He admitted to using Zanax as part of the "regimented medication" that was prescribed during rehab. He said the medications help "keep me clean from huffing dust." Carter told The Sun a hearing on custody of Prince is set for later this month.
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