Aaron Carter’s Twin Sister Angel Recalls Their Last Conversation Three Days Before He Died: ‘I Was Angry’ (Exclusive)

Aaron Carter‘s twin sister Angel Carter Conrad is recalling a particularly tense moment she shared with her late brother during their final conversation three days before his tragic 2022 death at just 34 years old.

In this week’s issue of PEOPLE, Angel, 37, reveals that the last time she actually laid eyes on her brother was three years earlier in a less-than-ideal location. “It makes me sad to know that the last time I saw him was in 2019 in a courtroom,” she says in the interview. “It was the last time I ever saw Aaron.”

Angel opens up about her relationship with Aaron and the experience of growing up with their three older siblings (including sisters Leslie and Bobbie Jean, who died in 2012 and 2023, respectively) in an environment rife with drugs and abuse in the new documentary The Carters: Hurts to Love You, which premieres April 15 on Paramount+. The two-part documentary was directed by Soleil Moon Frye, herself a former child star, of Punky Brewster fame.

Back in 2019, Angel and Aaron’s brother and Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter revealed in a post on X that he and Angel had made individual decisions to seek restraining orders against Aaron due to his “increasingly alarming behavior and his recent confession that he harbors thoughts and intentions of killing my pregnant wife and unborn child.”

“We were left with no choice, but to take every measure possible to protect ourselves and our family,” the singer added in his statement at the time.

Now Angel tells PEOPLE after that the harrowing courtroom moment with her family, she never again saw Aaron in person. Still, it wasn’t the last time the two spoke before his death.

For more on Aaron Carter, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

“So after the restraining orders, we had finally spoken maybe a year later, and we had two conversations that were four hours long,” she recalls. “Long, long, long conversations…. And then I had also talked to him a few times in between that…. He had COVID at one point, and I called him to check on him.”

Angel notes that she was “starting to open the door” on rebuilding their relationship — but the timing wasn’t in their favor. “I talked to him three days before he passed away,” she adds.

Speaking of that final conversation, Angel remembers that Aaron “was on Instagram Live and huffing duster cans and passing out and all these things. So I just called him, and I was like, ‘What are you doing?’ And he tried to deny it.”

“And I said, ‘Aaron, I saw you on Live. I saw it happen. Live, you doing this.’ And then he blamed me, and he said, ‘Well, you’re the reason why I’d use drugs.’ And I said, ‘Aaron, that’s not really fair. You can’t, don’t blame me for this.’ “

Angel maintains, “I was upset. And he just said, ‘Well, I want to see you. You haven’t seen me in almost three years.’ And I said, ‘Well, I want to see you too.’ But I said, ‘It’s got to be with a therapist. We’ve got to have someone mediating the situation.’ And He said, ‘Well, I’ll call my therapist right now.’ And I said, ‘No, it can’t be your therapist. It can’t be my therapist. It’s got to be a middle person like someone else.’ And I got off the phone. I was like, ‘Well, let’s talk later. I’ll call you a little later.’ “

“I was angry, honestly,” she admits. “I was angry that he had told me that I was the reason why he was doing drugs and got off the phone. And that was the last time I talked to him.”

Aaron’s lifeless body was found by his housekeeper on Nov. 5, 2022. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner released its official report on Carter’s death on April 18, 2023, attributing his cause of death to drowning after inhaling difluoroethane and taking alprazolam, the generic form of brand-name Xanax.

The coroner’s report also noted that Carter was “incapacitated while in the bathtub due to the effects” of the drugs he had taken, leading to his death by drowning.

In the wake of Aaron’s death, Angel and Nick took to social media to remember their late brother’s life and legacy.

“My heart has been broken today,” Nick wrote on Instagram at the time. “Even though my brother and I have had a complicated relationship, my love for him has never ever faded. I have always held onto the hope that he would somehow, someday want to walk a healthy path and eventually find the help that he so desperately needed.”

Angel expressed similar emotions, writing, “To my twin… I loved you beyond measure. You will be missed dearly. My funny, sweet Aaron, I have so many memories of you… and I promise to cherish them. I know you’re at peace now. I will carry you with me until the day I die and get to see you again. 💔.”

Angel — who has a 6-year-old daughter, Harper, with her husband Corey Conrad — is hoping to help parents start a dialogue with their children by sharing her story and through her and Corey’s work with the Columbus, Ohio-based Kids Mental Health Foundation. “We are just so happy to be involved,” she says, “and to share my story and to be able to inspire others.”