AJ McLean and wife Rochelle ‘officially’ split after divorce in 2023
Nearly a year after announcing their divorce, AJ McLean and woman Rochelle McLean stop it for good.
The Backstreet Boys singer, 45, shared the split news via Instagram on Monday, January 1, with the reveal simply captioned with a crying emoji.
“As you all know, we have been separated for over a year now,” read the accompanying statement. “Although we hoped for reconciliation, we have decided to officially end our marriage. It is with deep love and respect that we have made this decision.”
The message, signed by both AJ and Rochelle, 42, concluded: “Our focus now is on moving forward in the healthiest way possible, with friendship and co-parenting for our girls at the forefront of this next chapter. We appreciate your kindness, respect and privacy at this time.”
Rochelle shared the same statement via her own Instagram account on Monday, adding a black heart emoji to the caption.
The former couple started dating in March 2009, and AJ proposed after ten months during a trip to Las Vegas. The couple married in December 2011 in a gothic-themed wedding ceremony in Beverly Hills.
AJ and Rochelle welcomed Elliott and Lyric in 2012 and 2017, respectively.
Rochelle Deanna Karidis and AJ McLean
Jason LaVeris/FilmMagicAJ and Rochelle had previously gone through a rough patch in March 2023 after eleven years of marriage. “Marriage is hard, but worth it. We have jointly decided to temporarily separate to work on ourselves and our marriage in the hope of building a stronger future,” the couple said in a joint statement. We weekly.
At the time, the pair claimed their goal was “to get back together and continue to cherish our love for each other and our family,” adding, “We ask for respect and privacy at this time.” Divorce is hard enough without commentary. Please be kind and remember there are children involved.”
AJ McLean’s ups and downs through the years: BSB, sobriety and more
Overcoming obstacles. AJ McLean rose to fame as a member of the Backstreet Boys, but his global success came with its fair share of challenges. In 1992, the “Larger than Life” artist auditioned for the boy band and became the first official member of the BSB. He was later joined by Nick Carter, Howie Dorough and Kevin […]
Despite their breakup, AJ remained close to Rochelle as they continued to raise their children. “We still live separately, but we are in relationship therapy. We are in individual therapy. We talk every day. We’re spending more time together,” he explained in a November 2023 episode Cheryl Burke‘Sex, Lies and Spray Tans’ podcast. “We just have to rebuild something that was never there from the beginning.”
AJ confessed that both he and Rochelle faced personal challenges early in their romance, noting that his battle with substance abuse took a toll on their relationship. (He celebrated two years of sobriety last fall.)
“I came with baggage, she came with baggage. She had a trauma, I had a trauma. I wasn’t sober or even ready to get sober, she was dealing with her own stuff,” he continued. “It was just a constant push-pull. She swept her feelings under the carpet, I did the same or dived into a bottle. Now we have taken this time aside to really seriously grow, understand and listen.