Aaron and Nick Carter's Turbulent Relationship Stemmed From Their Parents' Greed, Relative Claims in New Docuseries

In ID's new docuseries Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter, a relative of the family gives fresh insight into the public and secret struggles of the troubled brood.

While Aaron Carter — who died of a drug overdose in late 2022 — claimed Nick "abuse me my whole childhood," their cousin John Spaulding believes their fallout was also due to their parents Robert "Bob" Gene Carter and Jane Elizabeth Carter's selfishness.

"When they were married, Jane and Bob managed Nick and Aaron, but when Nick turned 18, he removed his parents from being his managers. He wanted more from his relationship with them," John explained.

According to the relative, the couple — who divorced in 2004, 13 years before Bob died — "lashed out at him in retaliation" for his decision, as "Jane and Bob were focused on money."

Now that the parents weren't receiving funds from the "I Want It That Way" singer's career, they relied on Aaron.

"They took the responsibility from Nick and placed it on Aaron at a very young age. 'It’s your responsibility now,'" John shared. "No child should have to think about the well-being of his family at that age."

John believes the drama of the situation "spilled onto Nick and Aaron’s relationship," ultimately leading to a hot and cold brotherly dynamic.

Despite their issues, the Backstreet Boys member, 44, was devastated when the "Come and Get It" singer was found dead at his home in December 2022 at age 34.

"Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded. I have always held onto the hope, that he would somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed," the dad-of-three expressed on social media. "Sometimes we want to blame someone or something for a loss. But the truth is that addiction and mental illness is the real villain here."

Eerily enough, Nick's sister Bobby Jean was 41 when she died one year later due to "intoxication from the combined effects of fentanyl and methamphetamin."

Her death marked the third child of Bob and Jane to pass, as in 2007, Nick's sister Leslie died at 25 after falling in the shower and overdosing on prescription medication.

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This past April, Aaron's twin sister, Angel, 36, discussed their family's strife on CBS Mornings.

"There's certainly a generational dysfunction issue here that comes comes along with it, but as far as growing up, there was a time where we were a really close family," she said.

While she noted "there was a lot of love," there was also "a lot of chaos."

"My parents were just fighting all the time," she recalled. "Just dysfunction in the home. No boundaries. No stability. No one to talk to. It just felt like, if I had an issue going on I really couldn't have my parents to lean on."

Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter premieres on Monday, May 27.