Nick Carter reveals how he got into 'excessive' drug, alcohol use

Washington, Feb 20 (ANI): Backstreet Boy Nick Carter has finally opened up about his battle with drug and alcohol addiction, and revealed that he is now working towards becoming a better person.

Speaking on the Ellen DeGeneres Show, the singer said that he was into excessive drug and alcohol.

"I would either go out at night or party [while on tour with the Backstreet Boys," Us magazine quoted him as saying.

He added: "I didn't do a lot of morning drinking or anything of that sort. It would sort of be an occasional thing, but a lot of occasions that I would kind of make excuses to just go out to drink and party. It would be excessive."

Drugs "kind of came later in life. Alcohol kind of kicked it off and then, once the alcohol kind of wasn't doing it for me, I would lean on other things."

The 29-year-old pop star said that he couldn't stop despite "rude awakenings, warning signs, DUIs."

He said: "I got the DUI and I realized that it was wrong. I decided to go and sort of punish myself. I went to the classes, did the community service and did everything that I was required to do. Then I would end up in a situation where I was like, 'Ok well I'll stop for six months and then after that, I would feel like it's OK to get back into it.' And sort of fool myself in a way."

However, now Carter is thankful to a healthy lifestyle that helped him turn his life around.

"Working out definitely helped my self esteem, and it definitely made it easier for me to kind of push it aside. I just started replacing drinking and the parties...with healthier things like sports, video games," he said.

And now, Carter, who was diagnosed with a weakening of the heart muscle called cardiomyopathy, is sober.

"My goal in life is to be the best person that I can be and try as hard as I can. I make mistakes, but...I realize that I'm human and...I don't punish myself for those mistakes. [I] continuously try to be that better person," he said. (ANI)