After trauma therapy Backstreet Boys singer meets his father again after 42 years
Backstreet Boys member AJ McLean didn't see his father for 42 years. The last time they met, the singer was still a toddler. Now it came to a reunion. This was triggered by the musician's therapy.
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- AJ McLean was almost a baby when he saw his biological father for the last time.
- Now the 45-year-old Backstreet Boys singer wanted to know where he comes from and what his family roots are.
- The meeting was triggered by trauma therapy that McLean underwent last summer.
AJ McLean met up with his biological father again after 42 years. The two had last seen each other when the now 45-year-old Backstreet Boys singer was three years old.
After undergoing therapy last summer, the musician wanted to find out more about his family roots.
In an interview with the US online magazine "Page Six", McLean says that he went into therapy last May, just a few days after the end of the boy band's world tour.
AJ McLean: "I go to my meetings regularly"
During the ten-week treatment, the singer completed an intensive outpatient program for trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
McLean explains why he opted for this therapy: "Not so much because of my sobriety, because that's pretty solid." He has been sober for two years: "I go to my meetings regularly and do my twelve-step program."
He takes these meetings seriously, the singer continues, "but I had to get to the root of it". That's why he wanted to get to know his father better. McLean does not explain why he had not seen him for more than four decades in the interview with "Page Six".
McLean and his father only had contact by text message for years
According to AJ McLean, he and his father had only been in contact "occasionally by text message" in recent years. His therapy last summer was "the trigger" for him to ask for a face-to-face meeting.
The singer says he wanted to hear "first-hand" what his father had to say so that he could then make his "own decisions".
He continues: "And that's what I'm trying to do right now. There is a healthy form of selfishness, and I am now making my own decisions in life." Previously, the singer only knew his mother's family.
McLean: "AJ is not who I really am"
According to the Backstreet Boys singer, he has also resolved to better differentiate himself from his role in the band. "AJ is a person. It's a job. It's not who I really am. It doesn't define me."
That's why he prefers to be called Alex in private. He also has a lot of plans, including a musical solo project and plans to launch a fashion company in 2024.
The 45-year-old musician also wants to take better care of his health in future. In 2001, AJ McLean revealed that he was an alcoholic and occasionally used cocaine.
"I've lost almost 15 kilos in the last few months. I'm in better physical shape now than I was at 19," McLean said in an interview with "Page Six". He also rides his mountain bike six days a week.
His trauma therapy has shown him: "If I'm not well, I can't look after my family. So the order is: my sobriety, God, my family, me - and then we're good."
