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The New Year has had its first marital casualty, as the Backstreet Boys\u2019 AJ McLean<\/strong><\/a> and wife Rochelle<\/strong> announced they were splitting<\/a> on \u200bMonday January 1. They pair announced their separation in March 2023, but said at the time they hoped to make the marriage work.<\/p>\n \u201cAs you all know we have been separated for over a year now. While we have hoped for reconciliation, we have decided to officially end our marriage,\u201d the former couple wrote in a joint social media statement.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is with deep love and respect that we have made this decision,\u201d the duo continued. \u201cOur focus now is moving forward in the healthiest possible way with friendship and coparenting our girls at the forefront of this next chapter. We appreciate your kindness respect and privacy at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n AJ, 45, and Rochelle, 42, married in December 2011<\/a> after two years of dating. They later welcomed daughter Ava \u2013 who later changed her name to Elliott \u2013 in November 2012, followed by a second daughter<\/a>, Lyric, in March 2017.<\/p>\n When the pair revealed their separation, they hoped their marriage would come back stronger.<\/p>\n \u201cMarriage is hard, but worth it,\u201d they said in a statement. \u201cWe have mutually decided to separate temporarily to work on ourselves, and on our marriage with the hope of building a stronger future. The plan is to come back together and continue to nurture our love for one another and our family. We ask for respect and privacy at this time. Separation is hard enough without the commentary, please be kind and remember there are children involved.\u201d<\/p>\n AJ, Rochelle and their daughters most recently appeared on the red carpet for the Hollywood premiere of Trolls: Band Together<\/em> on November 15, 2023.<\/p>\n That same month, the boy bander spoke about the status of their marriage during an appearance on Cheryl Burke\u2019<\/strong>s \u200b\u201dSex, Lies, and Spray Tans\u201d podcast.<\/p>\n \u201cWe still live separately, but we are in couple\u2019s therapy, we are in individual therapy,\u201d AJ told the Dancing With the Star<\/em>s pro. He seemed hopeful, adding, \u201cWe talk every day, we are spending more time together. We just have to rebuild something that was never there from the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n AJ recalled how they each had issues going into their marriage.<\/p>\n \u201cI came with baggage, she came with baggage, she had trauma, I had trauma. I wasn\u2019t sober or ready to get sober. She was dealing with her own s\u2013t,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt was just a constant push-pull: She would sweep her feelings under the rug, or I would dive into a bottle.\u201d<\/p>\n AJ got sober after entering rehab in 2021. He revealed how his sobriety journey was going and how Rochelle was a part of it in an August 2023 interview.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve battled self-esteem issues my entire life, and I\u2019ve learned a lot. My sobriety is the most solid it\u2019s ever been,\u201d he told People<\/em>, adding, \u201cI\u2019m in the best shape of my life, both mentally, physically, spiritually. I\u2019m actually really happy and I love it, and I don\u2019t want to lose it. I want to continue to keep growing, growing with my wife and my kids and myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n