Backstreet Boys star AJ McLean and wife Rochelle announce their split

Backstreet Boys star AJ McLean and his wife Rochelle have announced their split after 11 years together.

The sad personal news was announced in a joint statement to Us Weekly.

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“Marriage is tough, but it’s worth it,” the statement said.

“We have decided together to temporarily separate to work on ourselves and our marriage in hopes of building a stronger future.”

McLean, 45, and Rochelle, 41, said in the statement they hoped this wasn’t the end of their relationship.

“The plan is to get back together and continue to nurture our love for one another and for our family,” they said.

“We ask for respect and privacy at this time.

“The breakup is hard enough without the comment.

“Please be kind and remember that children are involved.”

McLean and his wife began dating in 2009, with the Backstreet Boys star proposing 10 months later during a trip to Las Vegas.

The couple married in Beverly Hills in December 2011.

During his 2020 stint on the US version of Dancing With the Stars, McLean opened up about his relationship with his wife.

“She’s my superhero,” he wrote in a blog for Us Weekly.

“She’s been through hell and back with me,” he said.

“If there’s one award for everything she does in the daily newspaper, she deserves them all.

“She’s always there for me, no matter what it is.

“We have amazing conversations — sometimes into the early hours.”

The couple have two children, Elliott, born in 2012, and Lyric, born in 2017.

On his blog, McLean said Rochelle saw the best and the worst in him — especially when he was struggling to get sober.

“My wife means everything to me, as does the fact that she is with me to this day after all the bad things I’ve done in my life that have hurt people — especially her,” he said.

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