Hilary Duff paid homage to her ex-boyfriend Aaron Carter in a heartfelt Instagram post on Saturday evening, just hours after the singer and actor’s death was announced.
Carter, the 34-year-old brother of Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter, was discovered dead in his bathtub at his home in Lancaster, California.
Duff, who famously dated Carter in the early 2000s, wrote: ‘For Aaron – I’m deeply sorry that life was so hard for you and that you had to struggle in front of the whole world. You had a charm that was absolutely effervescent… boy did my teenage self love you dearly. Sending love to your family at this time. Rest easy.’
Carter and Duff dated intermittently between 2001 and 2003, when they were still in their twenties. Carter also appeared on an episode of Duff’s popular Disney Channel comedy Lizzie McGuire.
They were in a tumultuous relationship, with Aaron allegedly seeing Lindsay Lohan simultaneously.
This allegedly sparked a quarrel between the two actresses. The young couple split up for real in 2003 after rumors surfaced that Aaron had strayed on the Lizzie McGuire actress.