Just days after the heartbreaking deaths of Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, those who loved him most are sharing memories that reach far beyond his legendary films. Friends and longtime collaborators are reflecting on a life rooted in devotion, loyalty, and family, moments captured in the CBS News special âCBS News: Rob Reiner â Scenes from a Life,â which aired Sunday after â60 Minutesâ and is streaming on Paramount+.
Among those featured is Albert Brooks, who speaks with raw honesty about losing the person he called his oldest friend and about the long-lasting marriage that gave Reiner peace, purpose, and a sense of home.
âYou Found Your Soulmateâ: Brooks on Rob and Michele
Brooks also reflected on how Reinerâs relationship with Michele transformed his life.
âRob is a relationship person,â Brooks said. âOnce he locked in, it was lifelong, so Michele was lifelong.â
He described the couple as soulmates, adding, âThey knew they would be together forever. They were together at the very end in the same way they were together in the beginning.â
Brooks expanded on Michele’s impact on Reinerâs sense of peace and direction.
âThe desperation of finding someone was gone. You found your soulmate. It just made him happier. It made him calmer. He had a path now.â
Brooks added that his friendship with Reiner spanned more than 60 years, beginning when they met as teenagers. The two later collaborated on the 2023 documentary âAlbert Brooks: Defending My Life.â
âRob was my oldest friend. Itâs that simple. Heâs the person Iâve known the longest. I met him when I was 14. So Iâm still in that not believing it stage,â Brooks said. âI know it happened, but you know, Iâm driving around and all of a sudden â I actually two days ago, I called his number.â
The grief, Brooks admitted, still feels unreal.
âI just wish there was no reason to do this,â he said. âThatâs what I really wish.â
Annette Bening on a Partnership Built on Respect
That same sense of partnership stood out to others who knew the couple well. Annette Bening echoed Brooksâ words, describing the quiet strength of their bond.
âThey were very much companions to each other. And we all respected that about them and their relationship,â Bening said.
The actress has previously spoken about Reinerâs devotion to family and how that value permeated every corner of his life, from his home to the film set.
Michael Douglas on Balance, Pressure, and Parenthood
Michael Douglas also reflected on the coupleâs dynamic, noting how Michele helped steady Reinerâs boundless energy.
âShe was willing to play the bad cop. Because Rob was sometimes bouncing, bouncing off the walls. He had a great imagination, a great energy. Heâs very impulsive. And they complemented each other really well,â Douglas said.
Douglas also spoke candidly about the private pressures Reiner faced as a parent.
âWith this terrible tragedy, weâre realizing how much pressure he was dealing with in his personal life with his son. I also had a son who had drug issues. Iâm happy to say heâs overcome them and is living a prosperous life. We talked a lot about that and what you can do as a parent, what you canât do.â
Taken together, the reflections paint a portrait of a filmmaker whose most tremendous success was not only his body of work but also the relationships that defined his life.
Through the voices of those closest to him, Reiner is remembered as a loyal friend, a devoted husband, and a man who found his calm and purpose in love.
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