Backstreet Boys member AJ McLean and his wife Rochelle have announced the end of their 12-year marriage.
The couple had previously announced that they had separated to work on their relationship in hopes of returning together as a family. The couple has two daughters together, Elliot, 11, and Lyric, 6.
“As you all know, we have been separated for over a year,” read a statement posted to AJ McLean’s Instagram. “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.”
They planned to focus on “moving forward in the healthiest way possible with the friendship” and vowed to raise their two children together. “We appreciate your kindness, respect and privacy at this time,” the statement concludes.
Neither spouse has filed divorce papers yet, according to online Los Angeles County Superior Court records.
Last March, AJ, 45, and Rochelle, 42, announced that they had temporarily separated to “work on ourselves and our marriage in hopes of building a stronger future.”
In a statement shared with TMZ, they said at the time that they planned to “get back together and continue to nurture our love for each other and our family.”
AJ and Rochelle, a makeup artist and hairstylist who was working as a waitress when they met in 2008, married in 2011 in a gothic-themed wedding at the Beverly Hills Hotel. AJ had proposed to Rochelle the previous year while she celebrated her 32nd birthday, getting down on one knee on stage at a Las Vegas nightclub.
AJ credited his wife for her support while he struggled with substance use. He had been in and out of treatment since 2001 before becoming sober in 2021.
“[Rochelle] She was lost on me,” McLean told People in 2020. “She had ruled out leaving and taking the girls, but my ego was always telling me, ‘She’s not going anywhere,’” he said. “If I were her, I would have left, but she has always been able to see through the nonsense to who I really am.”
