Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Carters: Hurts to Love You’ on Paramount+, A Two-Part Doc About The Scars And Tragedies In Nick And Aaron Carter’s Family

Photo: Paramount

In The Carters: Hurts to Love You, a two-part documentary that streams connected Paramount+, head Soleil Moon Frye explores a family’s dysfunction done nan position of Angel Carter Conrad, copy sister of vocalist Aaron Carter, who died successful 2022 astatine property 34. After Nick Carter recovered fame pinch Backstreet Boys, Aaron followed his large relative into popular success. But pinch Aaron’s drug-related death, and nan passing of Leslie Carter successful 2012 and Bobbie Jean Carter in 2024, Angel’s contention in Hurts to Love You is that nan Carter family’s history of untreated intelligence illness, nan siblings’ upbringing successful a location racked by intoxicant maltreatment – and her parents’ meddling successful each of nan money Nick and Aaron were making – contributed to these tragedies. “As nan family was becoming famous, and money started coming into play, down nan scenes it was chaos.”

THE CARTERS – HURTS TO LOVE YOU: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT? 

Opening Shot: As “Backstreet’s backmost alright!” echoes for illustration an audio logo from different age, Angel Carter Conrad describes really she was only 4 years aged erstwhile Nick became a star. All she ever knew was her oldest relative being truthful famous, Times Square was unopen down for a Backstreet quality connected MTV’s Total Request Live. 

The Gist: “Aaron loved doing it,” Angel tells head Soleil Moon Frye successful The Carters: Hurts to Love You. When they were increasing up successful Florida, her copy relative was ever nan charmer, while she was ever nan observer. Like Nick, he was calved to beryllium a star. “But really do you show a kid that it’s OK to activity for illustration an adult? To not person your childhood, and to person that taken distant from you?” 

In 1992, aft their parents, Bob and Jane Carter, pushed Nick to audition for a singing group advertised successful nan section Tampa insubstantial – a boy set that became Backstreet, nan world arena – it was earthy that Aaron would emulate nan large relative he idolized. At conscionable 10 years old, Angel says, Aaron was already performing and touring nan country, pinch Bob and Jane arsenic his managers. Hurts besides interviews Lori Knight, Aaron’s erstwhile circuit manager, who describes a relentless master schedule that near nary clip for him to create conscionable arsenic a kid. But it wasn’t conscionable being removed from schoolhouse by 3rd grade, aliases nan changeless pressures of surviving successful nan nationalist eye. Angel says Bob and Jane controlling and yet stealing nan money Aaron was earning was a byproduct of really they had raised their children. “Money became nan driving force,” and replaced them being coming successful nan lives of their 5 children simply arsenic parents.

Bob Carter died from a bosom onslaught successful 2017. But according to a Hurts to Love You disclaimer, Jane Carter did not respond to nan filmmakers’ petition for comment. And Angel’s descriptions of nan family’s dysfunction continue. She describes a 2004 conflict betwixt her parents, again complete money, aft they’d separated – “I felt for illustration they pushed Aaron excessively hard,” says Ginger Carter, Angel’s stepmom – and that her parents’ intoxicant maltreatment and generational issues pinch intelligence unwellness went unaddressed, moreover arsenic these behaviors surfaced successful nan lives of nan children they were progressively either pulling distant from aliases pitting against each other. The Carters: Hurts to Love You sets up Part 2 pinch a gathering betwixt Nick and Angel, filmed connected Frye’s phone, wherever nan Backstreet Boy and reality show prima describes really his 30 years successful show business were defined by nan experiences of nan Carter kids’ childhood. “You don’t cognize who to move to, who to trust.”  

Photo: Paramount Plus

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? In nan 2024 docuseries Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaron Carter, erstwhile popular vocalist Melissa Schuman goes connected nan grounds pinch allegations of intersexual battle against Nick, and Aaron’s nationalist meltdowns and controversies, arsenic good arsenic immoderate of nan aforesaid disturbing stories from Hurts to Love You astir nan Carter siblings’ childhood, are discussed. The power of Lou Pearlman complete nan Carter family besides surfaces successful Hurts, and for a primer connected nan disgraced boy set impresario, now dead, cheque retired Dirty Pop, wherever a weird AI type of Pearlman speaks alongside interviews pinch (the real) erstwhile members of NSYNC. And while not explicitly astir boy bands, Moon Frye’s 2021 documentary Kid 90 does screen immoderate akin crushed erstwhile it comes to nan stresses placed upon group who brushwood fame astatine a young age.

Our Take: The first portion of The Carters: Hurts to Love You offers a batch of setup for nan downfall and decease of Aaron Carter, to beryllium discussed further successful nan documentary’s 2nd half. But that doesn’t mean Angel Carter Conrad’s recollections of her puerility pinch her siblings aren’t terribly sad. The doc draws a bold statement from nan early behaviour of Bob and Jane Carter – they were each raised successful dysfunctional homes; she knew he was a womanizer erstwhile they met; they some drank heavy – to their life successful Florida pinch nan 5 Carter kids. When money from Nick and Aaron’s burgeoning stardom began to rotation in, Angel says, it created caller opportunities for Bob and Jane, but exacerbated nan aforesaid aged problems. It’s correct astir erstwhile she mentions her parents spending each nan rate Aaron earned earlier he turned 18, and disparaging comments astir them from a erstwhile circuit manager, that you statesman to wonderment wherever nan parents’ voices are successful each of this. 

That’s erstwhile nan disclaimers return over, conscionable for illustration they did pinch nan communicative Fallen Idols tells. Hurts to Love You is powerful connected a one-to-one level, arsenic Angel processes her feelings of neglect, of being ignored by her parents while they rode nan financial activity of her brothers’ careers. But it doesn’t push her to elaborate erstwhile she mentions really she was astir sexually assaulted by men employed by her parents. And it doesn’t reside astatine each nan allegations made against Nick Carter successful Fallen Idols. Part 2 of Hurts will characteristic much of Angel’s conversations pinch Nick, and really nan facts of their early life together affected them and their precocious brother. But connected nan whole, Hurts to Love You leaves america wondering what’s near aft each of nan sadness it describes.

Photo: Getty Images

Sex and Skin: Nick Carter appears successful some parts of Hurts to Love You, done conversations pinch his sister Angel astir their puerility and their precocious relative Aaron. But Hurts ne'er erstwhile mentions nan galore intersexual battle allegations against Carter, aliases their related ineligible proceedings.   

Parting Shot: There are tears arsenic Nick, pinch Angel, says he feels for illustration nary 1 understands really overmuch he hurts inside. And successful scenes from Part 2 of The Carters: Hurts to Love You, “Things started to spiral for Aaron…”  

Sleeper Star: Get utilized to seeing complete and complete again nan aforesaid fistful of location video clips of Bob and Jane Carter and their kids erstwhile they were little. So galore naked babies frolicking, and oversized achromatic Guess T’s tucked into Silver Tab jeans.    

Most Pilot-y Line: “There is simply a familial constituent to intelligence health,” Angel Carter Conrad says successful Hurts to Love You, “and successful my family, intelligence wellness disorders tally very deep.” 

Our Call: Stream It, but if you’re willing successful this communicative and nan scope of its tragedies, possibly see The Carters: Hurts to Love You successful a viewing artifact pinch Fallen Idols: Nick and Aaaron Carter.  

Johnny Loftus (@glennganges) is an independent writer and editor surviving astatine ample successful Chicagoland. His activity has appeared successful The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift.