ENTERTAINMENT
AJ McLean Shows Off His Fit Body amid Health and Sobriety Journey: ‘No More Dad Bod’
“It’s amazing what a little dedication and setting goals can do for a person,” Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean wrote in an Instagram post on Thursday
AJ McLean is committed to being the best version of himself.
The Backstreet Boys singer, 44, shared some shirtless pics of himself on Instagram Thursday, in which he detailed in the caption of his post that he has been dedicated to a “#HealthyLifestyle.”
“Thought I’d do a little throwback Thursday vibes,” McLean began. “Found the pic on the left from a year ago on vacation and wow it’s amazing what a little dedication and setting goals can do for a person.”
“The journey is far from over though. This is just the beginning!” he continued, adding the hashtags: “#HealthyLifestyle,” “#Sober” and “#NoMoreDadBod.”
“Let’s go! If I can do it so can you!!” McLean concluded his post.
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Back in 2020, McLean opened up to PEOPLE about his 20-year struggle with addiction to drugs and alcohol, and the hard work that has gone into maintaining his sobriety, which he pointed out as a factor of his improved health in his Thursday social media post.
“My wife and I had always had this agreement, which was, if I smelled like alcohol, I wasn’t allowed to play with my kids — I couldn’t be around my kids,” McLean said. “But what really hit me was the moment, my youngest daughter Lyric said to me that night, ‘You don’t smell like my daddy.’ And when she said that to me, that was it. Enough said. I felt disgusting.”
McLean said he found his purpose after that eye-opening interaction with his young daughter.
“This is the clearest I’ve ever been,” McLean explained at the time. “I’m floating high — naturally. My family has saved my life, God has saved my life, and my recovery has saved my life. Without those three things, I wouldn’t be here.”
And though his dad bod may be no more, McLean is still always in dad mode. His family has been his motivation for not just his sobriety, but new opportunities in his career as well.
During his appearance at 90s Con in March, McLean talked about his dreams of performing on Broadway and what a move to New York City could mean for his family.
“That is like number one on my bucket list: to do Broadway,” McLean said. “Within the next two years, my family and I — I’m not going to tell you where — we’re going to move to New York for one year and hopefully [it will happen].”
He added that the potential move would allow his two daughters to attend some “really awesome dance schools in New York,” adding: “They’re both mini-mes. They love to perform.”
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