Everything Nick Reiner Has Said About His Relationship With Dad Rob Reiner

The deaths of Hollywood legend Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, sent shockwaves through the entertainment world and cast renewed attention on their family’s private struggles.

Before their son Nick Reiner was arrested in connection with the case, he had spoken openly about how addiction shaped his life and complicated his relationship with his father over the years.

Rob and Michele were found dead at their California home on December 14, in what authorities have described as an apparent homicide. As per TMZ, Nick was arrested in the case. Nick Reiner has previously shared that he faced serious challenges beginning in his teenage years, entering rehab for the first time at age 15.

Getty

He later spoke candidly about how those early experiences shaped both his personal life and his relationship with his father. Here’s everything the father-son duo has said about each other.

A Period of Instability and Time Without a Permanent Home

During times when he stepped away from treatment, Nick experienced periods of instability and life without a permanent home, as reported by Forbes.

“I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas,” Nick told People in 2016. “I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun. If I wanted to do it my way and not go to the programs they were suggesting, then I had to be homeless.”

After getting sober, Nick chose to transform those experiences into creative work. He co-wrote the semi-autobiographical film “Being Charlie,” released in 2015 and directed by his father, Rob Reiner.

The film explored the strain addiction can place on families and reflected parts of their own journey. Cary Elwes portrayed the father figure, while Nick Robinson played the son.

Working Together, Tested Father and Son

While promoting the film, Rob described the experience as “therapeutic,” though both acknowledged it was not easy.

“There were disagreements,” Rob told an audience at an event for the movie, as per US Weekly. “At times it was really rough [working on the film].”

Nick also admitted the process was emotionally demanding.

“Sometimes it would get overwhelming for me. I really wasn’t sure I wanted to do this,” he said. Despite the challenges, Rob later said the process strengthened their bond.

“To be honest, by the time we got to the point of making the movie … our relationship had gotten so much closer,” he said.

Nick later echoed that sentiment, noting that working alongside his father allowed him better to understand Rob through the lens of his craft.

Rob and Michele Reiner Reflected on Regret & Growth

In a 2016 interview with the Los Angeles Times, Rob reflected on how difficult those years were for the family.

“It was very, very hard going through it the first time, with these painful and difficult highs and lows,” he said. “And then making the movie dredged it all up again.”

Rob also expressed regret for not listening to his son sooner.

“When Nick would tell us that it wasn’t working for him, we wouldn’t listen,” he said. “We were desperate, and because the people had diplomas on their wall, we listened to them when we should have been listening to our son.”

Michele shared a similar reflection during the same discussion.

“We were so influenced by these people. They would tell us he’s a liar, that he was trying to manipulate us. And we believed them.”

Nick Reiner on Bonding With His Father as an Adult

Nick later explained that he did not feel a strong bond with Rob as a child, but that changed when they worked together as adults.

“We didn’t bond a lot as kids, like he really liked baseball, I like basketball,” Nick said during a 2016 Build Series interview. “I think the bonding [on the set of ‘Being Charlie’] came not from the story itself, but from the fact that we were working on a movie together.”

Nick added that watching his father work altered how he saw him.

“When I saw him do that, and it was something that I’m interested in, I was like, ‘Wow, like, he really knows a lot, and it made me feel closer to him,’” he said.

Tragedy & Ongoing Investigation

In December 2025, Rob and Michele Reiner were found dead from what authorities described as apparent stab wounds. Us Weekly later confirmed that Nick was arrested on a murder charge.

“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,” a family spokesperson said in a statement to Variety. “We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”

As the investigation continues, Nick’s past words now offer a painful and complex look at a relationship shaped by struggle, reconciliation, and unfinished healing.

Rob and Michele, who married in 1989, shared three children, Jake, Nick, and Romy. Rob also adopted Tracy, the daughter of his former wife, Penny Marshall, during their marriage.

The post Everything Nick Reiner Has Said About His Relationship With Dad Rob Reiner appeared first on EntertainmentNow.