Maria Shriver has paid tribute to Rob and Michele Reiner following their shock deaths, saying the couple “never stopped trying to be really good parents”.
The journalist and member of the Kennedy family, 70, was a close friend of the director-actor and his photographer wife, and posted a heartfelt message after they were found dead in their Los Angeles home on Monday.
“I loved Michele and Rob Reiner,” Shriver’s statement, shared hours after the couple’s son, Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested in connection with their deaths, began.
“We raised our kids together, from mommy and me on up.
“We laughed together, we cried together, we played together, we dreamed together.”
Shriver, the ex-wife of actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, revealed she had dinner with the pair a few days before their deaths and said they were “in the best place in their lives.”
They spoke about how they “loved one another, their friends, their family, their country,” she said.
READ MORE: McLeod’s Daughters star Rachael Carpani dies aged 45
READ MORE: Major career concession George Clooney is making for wife
READ MORE: Sir Cliff Richard opens up about cancer diagnosis
The author noted the Reiners “never gave up” on their country, and were determined to “make the world better.”
Shriver described the late couple as great, loving parents who “never stopped trying.”
“I loved them, and I knew they loved me, for any friend like that is such a gift. They gave me and all their friends that gift all the time.”
“They loved their kids so much, and they never stopped trying to be really good parents. My love is with their family. I’m so sad for them.
“I’m devastated, gutted, shocked, stunned, and so deeply saddened, as are all of the people who loved them and who they loved.”
Shriver added that she hopes people remember them as “two deeply talented, kind, fun, loving, good, patriotic people who loved each other deeply.”
She finished the touching post with: ”I’ll miss you, Michele. I’ll miss you, Rob.
“I love you both. Thank you for your friendship. God bless you both. Life will not be the same without you here, that’s for sure.”
The couple were found dead in their Brentwood home on Sunday afternoon (Monday Australian time) by their daughter, Romy.
Shirver is not the only celebrity to mourn the loss of the Hollywood great and his wife, with dozens from the industry posting tributes to the pair.
Kathy Bates, whose performance in Reiner’s film Misery earned her an Oscar, described Reiner as “brilliant and kind”.
“I loved Rob … [he was] a man who made films of every genre to challenge himself as an artist,” she told NBC in a statement.
“He changed the course of my life. Michele was a gifted photographer. She shot my beautiful photos for the Misery campaign.
“My heart breaks for them both. My thoughts are with their family.”
Zooey Deschanel shared a tribute to Reiner, who played her on-screen father on the sitcom New Girl.
“My heart is broken. Rob Reiner was the absolute warmest, funniest, most generous of spirits,” she wrote alongside a series of snaps of them together on set.
“A truly good human being. An incredible artist and such a playful and fun collaborator. I cherish the time we spent working together and the many films he made that have shaped who I am.
“Rob and his lovely wife Michele were always so kind and it brought me so much joy any time I was lucky enough to see them.
The couple’s family released a statement announcing their death on Monday.
“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,” the statement reads.
“We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”
Nick Reiner, a screenwriter who has struggled with drug addiction, has been arrested in relation to his parents’ deaths.
FOLLOW US ON WHATSAPP HERE: Stay across all the latest in celebrity, lifestyle and opinion via our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and nobody can see your private details.
