Getty ImagesIs Aaron Carter still pining for Hilary Duff, more than 10 years after they broke up?
The 26-year-old pop star, the little brother of Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter, earlier this week posted on his Instagram page a picture showing him watching himself and ex-girlfriend Hilary Duff on a 2001 Christmas-themed episode of her former Disney Channel series Lizzie McGuire.
"Merry Christmas Lizzie McGuire. #IWantCandy #AaronCarter #Flashback," he said, adding, "I never actually watched this before."
Earlier this year, Aaron made headlines by tweeting that Duff was the love of his life, adding, "I'll spend the rest of my life trying to better myself to get back to her."
Duff, who had said his tweets made her "uncomfortable," has not responded to his Instagram post.
The actress is currently separated from her husband, hockey player Mike Comrie and father of their 2-year-old son Luca. Aaron had posted his love confession to Duff on Twitter in March, about two months after she announced her split.
Some Twitter users responded favorably to Aaron's Lizzie McGuire post...
@aaroncarter YOU WERE WATCHING IT TOO? OH MY GOD I WAS JUAT FREAKING OUT ABOUT THIS EPISODE. I LEGIT HAVE NOT SEEN IT IN ABOUT TEN YEARS.
? B. (@brielle_lis) December 4, 2014@aaroncarter omg Aaron my fave episode!! Wat a cutie
? Yael Gottesman (@YaelBaileyG) December 4, 2014Some even recalled how emotional they got when they first watched the episode...
@aaroncarter i was so upset when you kissed her i actually cried
? slay me harry ! ? (@nakedmagic) December 4, 2014@aaroncarter I cried then & maybe I cried now ??
? Viola Wallace (@Violamaywallace) December 4, 2014Apparently a lot of girls were super pissed when I kissed Lizzie McGuire ??
? A? (@aaroncarter) December 4, 2014...while others tweeted that think he is "obsessed" with Duff.
@JackieWarner13 @aaroncarter He is so obsessed with her. That's not always a good thing.
? For Nate (@witchofmusic) December 4, 2014I just want someone to be as obsessed with me as Aaron Carter is with Hilary Duff
? kristen (@kreestensmith) December 4, 2014Aaron Carter needs to chill with his obsession with Hilary duff ??
? goldie (@rachelegolden) December 5, 2014On Friday, Aaron got defensive about it.
It's not my fault that @DisneyChannel was playing my episode of Lizzie McGuire while I had some time to watch TV the other night.
? Aaron Carter (@aaroncarter) December 5, 2014In the episode that Aaron was watching, titled "Aaron Carter's Coming to Town," Lizzie and her pals Miranda and Gordo set off on a mission to meet the singer, who is shooting his Christmas music video in the area.
Of course, Duff and Aaron end up kissing under a piece of mistletoe, as his pop ballad "Girl You Shine" plays. Both human and cartoon Lizzie swoon. And she and her buddies get to take part in the music video, set to one of his hits, a 2000 cover of The Strangeloves' 1965 pop song "I Want Candy," also made famous by Bow Bow Bow in 1982.
Aaron has been open about his botched relationship with Duff. He had said on The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch in 2005 that he and the actress, who is two months older than him, began dating on his 13th birthday, in 2000. (Pictured below: The two appear together at the premiere of The Lizzie McGuire Movie in 2003.)
"We kiss and we hug, we hold hands, we go to the movies," he said. "I was actually dating her for, like, a year and a half. Then, I just got a little bored so I went and started getting to know Lindsay [Lohan]...dating Lindsay. And then I didn't want to do that anymore, so I got back with Hilary and then I ended up cheating on Hilary with her best friend. And then, all her best guy friends told her the next day."
"She wasn't even that good-looking, either," he said about Duff's female pal, adding, "[Duff] really got her heartbroken from me and I'm sorry for that."
Aaron's Instagram post about Lizzie McGuire also brought to mind another message he posted in April on Twitter, about Lohan.
Watching this @lindsaylohan docu series...
? Aaron Carter (@aaroncarter) April 22, 2014