Hilary Duff’s heartbreaking tribute to ex Aaron Carter

Hilary Duff has paid a touching tribute to her former boyfriend Aaron Carter.

The Younger actor dated the late singer — who was found dead at home on Saturday aged 34 — for three years from 2001 and she has reflected on the “deep love” of their teenage romance while praising the “effervescent” charm he showed throughout his troubled personal life.

She wrote: “For Aaron. I’m deeply sorry that life was so hard for you and that you had to struggle in front of the whole world. You had a charm that was absolutely effervescent.

“Boy did my teenage self love you deeply. Sending love to your family at this time. Rest easy.“

Spencer Pratt has also paid tribute to Aaron, who he last saw just two days before he died, when they got together for a TikTok live stream session of them playing video games and chatting.

Aaron had shared a screenshot to Instagram and wrote: “@spencerpratt kicked my a** twice but then I got him on the third one! Cool dude! @tiktok thanks for the LØVË XO Thank you Julie! And spencer!!(sic)“

Spencer reshared the post on Twitter and wrote: “RIP“.

One Voice singer Billy Gilman shared an old photo of himself and Aaron on his Instagram Story and reflected on his friend’s talent.

He wrote: “The amount of times I reached out as a brother to see if he was OK I can’t begin to count. You were truly a musical genius and could never just be that.

“I have no words. All I can say is I know what you had to deal with since we first met in 2001.

“You can now rest. Forever a brother to me. Love you, Aaron.”

Fellow 1990s pop stars New Kids on the Block were left “shocked and saddened” by the I Want Candy singer’s shock death.

They tweeted: “We are shocked and saddened about the sudden passing of Aaron Carter. Sending prayers to the Carter family. Rest in peace, Aaron.”