Hilary Duff shared an emotional tribute to teenage flame Aaron Carter following his death on Saturday, recalling how her younger self loved the singer “deeply”.
For older millennials, the duo was basically the teenage dream version of Brangelina, joining on and off screen as one of the most important and intensely watched power couples of the early 2000s.
In a note titled “For Aaron” shared on her social media on Saturday, Duff mourned the teenager she met years ago.
“I am deeply sorry that life was so difficult for you and that you had to struggle in front of the whole world,” she wrote on Instagram. “You had absolutely effervescent charm…boy, my teenage self loved you deeply.”
He ended his message by telling Carter to “rest in peace” and that he was “sending love” to his family.
Carter was found dead Saturday at his home in Lancaster, California. He was 34 years old. No cause of death has been given for the late singer, who was the younger brother of Backstreet Boys frontman Nick Carter.
Duff and Aaron Carter started dating when they were both just 13 years old in 2000 and their romance officially ended around 2003.
Carter famously appeared on Duff’s Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire in a 2001 episode in which she played herself and performed a Christmas-themed version of her hit single “I Want Candy.” In one of the now-classic episode’s most memorable moments, Carter says “Merry Christmas, Lizzie McGuire” before sharing a kiss.
The two were part of a love triangle with Lindsay Lohan, who began dating Carter during a breakup with Duff, sparking a highly publicized feud between the teen queens of the time.
Since then, Carter has repeatedly expressed regret over how the relationship ended, declaring his love for Duff over the years and telling Entertainment Tonight in 2014 that he would “never give up on Hilary.”
“Don’t be that fool who loses the love of your life forever. Like me,” he tweeted that same year. “I will spend the rest of my life trying to get back to her better. I don’t care what ANYONE thinks about you.
Duff rejected her advances at the time, reiterating that their romance was a thing of the past.
“I keep seeing it, it keeps doing it,” she told BuzzFeed. “I don’t know how I feel. I mean, it was a long time ago, and of course I’m still married and I have a son and we just do. … Yeah, I don’t know us … so … yeah.”
Carter started a family with girlfriend Melanie Martin, with whom he shares his 11-month-old son Prince.
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