HEARTBREAKING details have resurfaced regarding the life of Nick Reiner, the son accused of murdering filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele.
The youngest son of the A-list Hollywood couple reportedly battled a 15-year-long addiction to drugs and was even homeless for a period of time.
On Sunday, Rob, 78, and Michele, 68, were found stabbed to death with their throats slit after having allegedly gotten into an altercation with a family member, according to police.
The couple’s son Nick, 32, who is the middle child, was arrested Sunday evening in connection with the gruesome deaths and is being held on a $4 million bond.
While the death of the Oscar-nominated director and his wife shocked the world, Reiner’s neighbors weren’t surprised about the son’s suspected involvement.
“This is not the first time their son has been violent,’’ a longtime neighbor of the victims told The New York Post.
“I know of another incident a few years back with Nick, but I won’t say more than that,’’ added the anonymous neighbor. “I just never thought it would ever get to this point.”
Nick previously admitted to being a heroin addict and began using drugs at the age of 15.
“I know they wanted him to get help, go to rehab, but he wanted to get help while at home — he did not want to get treatment at a facility,’’ the neighbor said.
“And I know they have argued about that for years. Nick has had demons for the longest.”
In 2016, the son said he’s been in and out of rehab almost 17 times since he began using and even experienced homelessness, according to an interview with People magazine.
“I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas,” Nick told the outlet in 2016.
“I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun.”
‘BEING CHARLIE’
In 2015, Nick even co-wrote a movie called Being Charlie that his dad directed, inspired by his and his father’s relationship during his addiction.
Being Charlie initially started as a pilot script Nick intended to pitch for television, but it eventually morphed into a bonding project between the father and son, according to a 2015 story by the LA Times.
The film follows Charlie, played by Nick Robinson, a privileged child who becomes addicted to drugs, and David Mills, played by Cary Elwes, a successful actor with political aspirations.
The legendary career of iconic director Rob Reiner
FAMED actor, director and producer Rob Reiner, 78, died on December 14 alongside his wife Michele Singer, 68, in an apparent homicide.
Here is a look at the prodigious list of achievements the Hollywood powerhouse earned before his tragic and sudden death.
Director’s Beginnings
- Reiner was born in New York City on March 6, 1947, to legendary comedy writer Carl Reiner and singer Estelle Reiner
- He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles film school before breaking into the entertainment industry
Hollywood Career
- Reiner first found fame as an actor playing Michael “Meathead” Stivic on the iconic sitcom All in the Family from 1971 to 1979
- In 1984, he directed his first film This Is Spinal Tap – a mockumentary following a fictional heavy metal band
- Reiner went on to direct cult classic films like The Princess Bride in 1987 and When Harry Met Sally… in 1989
- Other notable movies made by the director include Misery, The American President, and A Few Good Men, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture
- The production company he co-founded, Castle Rock Entertainment, has also produced hits like Seinfeld and The Shawshank Redemption
- Reiner didn’t halt his acting career either, recently starring in The Wolf of Wall Street in 2013 and The Bear in 2025
Personal Life
- Reiner married actress Penny Marshall in 1971 and adopted her daughter, Tracy, from a previous marriage. The couple divorced in 1981
- He met photographer Michele Singer while shooting When Harry Met Sally
- They married in 1989 and had three children: Jake, born 1991, Nick born 1993, and Romy born 1997)
- Nick opened up about his struggle with drug addiction in 2016. The movie Becoming Charlie, directed by Reiner, was based on Nick’s story
- Reiner was an outspoken Democratic activist and a fierce critic of Donald Trump
Being Charlie follows the strained relationship between the father and son, as the father begs for Charlie to get help.
Throughout the movie, Charlie tries and fails at different rehabilitation programs set up by his father.
During a Q&A that followed the 2015 premiere of the movie, the “When Harry Met Sally” director admitted that the movie brought up raw feelings between him and his son.
“It was very, very hard going through it the first time, with these painful and difficult highs and lows,” Rob Reiner said.
“And then making the movie dredged it all up again.”
The father-son duo said parts of the film were lifted directly from their personal lives.
What we know so far…
In one scene, during an intense push for Charlie to seek help, the father character told his son, “I’d rather you hate me, and you be alive.”
Rob said he’s told his own son that verbatim.
Even lead actor Cary Elwes, who previously worked with Rob on The Princess Bride, said the film “doesn’t get more personal than this.”
“There were times when I would want to tone it down and Rob would just tell me, ‘No, turn it up,’” Elwes said in 2015.
“He would tell me he didn’t handle it well and we had to show that. He would describe the stages of grief and how addiction is like a slow suicide, then say, ‘Let’s explore all of that.’”
Rob and his wife both said they chose to listen to doctors who pushed rehab programs rather than listening to their son.
“We were so influenced by these people,” Nick’s mother, Michele, said at the time.
They would tell us he’s a liar, that he was trying to manipulate us. And we believed them.”
‘SO MUCH CLOSER’
When the film was released, Nick was sober, according to the LA Times.
“I got sick of it,” he said in 2015.
“I got sick of doing that…. I come from a nice family I’m not supposed to be out there on the streets and in homeless shelters doing all these…things.”
Rob said that making the movie with his son resulted in them getting “so much closer.”
“I said it to his face. I’ll say it on the air: He was the heart and soul of the film and any time I would get an opportunity to work with him I would do it,” Rob previously told NPR.
“He’s brilliant and talented and he’s going to figure out his path.”
When asked by NPR if he would ever want to work with his father again, Nick replied: “I think for now, it’s best for me at least to be sort of independent. But that’s not to say I didn’t have an amazing experience.”
