Brian’s got a ferocious fear of heights. Oh- You knew that? Okay: Howie loves to show off his hard-earned abs. Ditto? Well hang in there- we’ve got more gossip on those passionate princes of pop... insider stuff! We talked to Samantha Stonebraker, the now-24-year-old who dated Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell back in ‘93 when the band first formed.
“I’m a little bit older, so I’m not too far removed to where I don’t remember, but yet I’m old enough to have a few valuable experiences under my belt,” says Samantha, author of What You Wanna Know: Backstreet Boys Secrets Only a Girlfriend Can Tell.
B-rok and the blonde beauty met through her good friend and singing partner, Alex (A.J.) McLean and the relationship lasted four years until a mutual split in ‘97, “right before their songs got really, really big in the U.S.,” says Samantha, who is still very close to the Boys and even hangs out with Howie and Nick from time to time.
In her book, Samantha answers questions ranging from whether or not the boys are virgins (!) to the types of clothes they like their girlfriends to wear (!!) But what about that mysterious number code? (Check out the liner notes of BSB’s first and second albums, under B-Rok’s “Thank-you’s.”) “It’s a beeper code that we would send to each other,” says Samantha. “7-2 stands for G.B., which is (the) nickname that I had for him, and the 3-3-3 is a way for us to say ‘I love you’ and ‘I miss you’ and all that sweet stuff.”
And how about Frick and Frack (the nicknames Brian and Nick have for each other)? “They were always like two peas in a pod,” Samantha explains. “If you were ever going to see two of the guys together doing something mischievous, it was always Brian and Nick. They’re inseparable. So they just came up with ‘Frick’ and ‘Frack’ and they would have these funny voices that came along with it. Just something to pass the time when you’re out on the road... to crack each other up.
Although the boys like to point fingers at A.J. as being the “tour bus slob,” Samantha says all of them were pretty tidy. But she does spill the beans about Alex’s forgetfulness.
“I don’t know how many times, if they left a city before I did, I’d get a call on my cell phone saying, ‘You gotta go to Alex’s room and grab this CD’ or whatever- he was bad at forgetting things,’ laughs Samantha, whose new book- devoted to issues relevant to teen girls- should hit shelves early next year.
And Brian- who didn’t date that much way back when- was always the girls’ best friend. “Y’Know that guy that all the girls had for an ear and shoulder to cry on? That was Brian.”
Brian’s engagement to model/actress Leighanne Wallace came as no surprise to Samantha, who had gotten engaged herself only a couple months earlier. “ I’ll always cherish the time I had with him,” says Samantha, “but I wouldn’t trade where I’m at in my life now for anything. I’m very happy. I’m happy with my personal relationships, I’m happy with my family. I love my friends, and I wouldn’t trade any of that for the world.”
But what if, hypothetically, B-Rok and new wife Leighanne were suddenly splitsville, and Samantha was single again? Could there be another shot at romance?
“I think Brian and I have become very different people, and we definitely want different things,” she says. “I enjoy my feet being on the ground , and I enjoy my life, so I think that our friendship would remain, but as far as a romantic relationship, I couldn’t really foresee that happening...but that’s really hard to say.”
So which of the Backstreet Boys is most likely to stay out until the sun rises? Howie, A.J. and Kevin (pre-marriage), according to Samantha. And who’d be more likely to stay home and snuggle with a girl?
“Oh, that’d definitely be Nick and Brian,” she says. “They love to go back to the hotel room and play different Nintendo games, watch TV, listen to music, and just unwind.” (Wait- we said with a girl!)
And if all five fellows were stuck on a desert island in the South China Sea, who’d be the first one kicked off?
“Geez, I don’t know,” she says. “That would be interesting, though. I think [in the end] it’d be a battle between Nick and Kevin.”
And the first one to demand the hotel room?
“Either Alex or Brian,” guesses Samantha. “I could see [Alex] being, like, ‘What am I doing?’ ”
