Backstreet Boys' AJ says hosting gig helped him overcome mental health trauma

29 December 2023 , 08:07

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Backstreet Boys' AJ says hosting gig helped him overcome mental health trauma

Backstreet Boys star AJ McLean has opened up about his new hosting gig Fashion Hero: A New Kind Of Beautiful.

The former singer revealed that his time on the reality lifestyle show allowed him to meet and help people who have been through similar mental health trauma to him. The show follows ordinary people challenge the standards set by the beauty industry but only one will emerge as the new face of A New Kind of Beautiful.

He exclusively told us: "I could relate to every single contestant. We had 22 different countries, ages 19 to 65, from all walks of life, different religions, different genders, different backgrounds, whether it was dealing with mental health trauma abuse, body dysmorphia, all of it."

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He candidly continued: "And a lot of people don't know that I dealt with all of those same things. I've dealt with body dysmorphia. People don't know that but I have, I've dealt with depression, anxiety, mental abuse within myself, beating myself up, low self esteem insecurity."

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During our chat, he also revealed that a Backstreet Boys reunion might not be on the cards, despite desperate calls from fans. The popular 90s boy band, made up of AJ, Nick Carter, Howie Dorough and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson rose to fame with hits like Backstreet's Back, I Want It That Way and As Long As You Love Me, but sadly split in 2006.

Since then, fans have awaited their reunion and before Covid, a tour with the original members was on the cards following the release of their album DNA. The DNA World Tour would see the guys perform all over Europe and North America, headlining venues including London’s O2 Arena, Paris’s AccorHotels Arena, Berlin’s Mercedes-Benz Arena and many more. However, due to the pandemic, the tour was cancelled.

AJ said the band is taking a break (Getty Images for iHeartRadio)

But, AJ told us that the band are "taking space from each other", meaning a tour isn't on the cards anytime soon. He told The Mirror: "Backstreet are taking a well needed break."

"We're taking about a year off, we have a couple of one off things coming up," he added. "We have our Cancun trip coming up next April, which essentially is like the Backstreet Boys cruise, except now it's a destination. So there's no boat involved. Now that we're taking a break, we're giving each other the space to do our own things.”

AJ recently sparked a rumours of a reunion with fellow 90s pop bad NSYNC when he and Nick danced with Joey Fatone and Lance Bass have teamed up to create a hybrid act called Back-Synch. The foursome already thrilled a live audience they performed together at a charity event in aid of gay Pride in the city.

Lauren Gordon