The Sad Link Between Martin Short’s Daughter Katherine & Rob Reiner’s Son Nick

It’s a small world. It turns out there’s a heartbreaking connection between Martin Short‘s daughter, Katherine, who just passed away by suicide, and the late Rob Reiner‘s son Nick, who is in custody for allegedly killing his parents.

According to the DailyMail.com on Wednesday, Katherine and Nick actually grew up as childhood friends in California. Their fathers were super good pals and actually lived pretty close to one another. The children reportedly grew up playing with each other on the weekends, a source shared:

“Martin and Rob were very close. They were in each other’s inner circle, and they lived not far from each other.”

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They added:

“There were holidays together, birthday parties, dinner parties and the kids were always around, always in each other’s company, they pretty much grew up together.”

Despite a 10-year age gap between Katherine and Nick and the fact that they went to different high schools, they formed a unique and close bond out of all the kids. The insider detailed:

“Katherine and Nick bonded over being the children of famous people, it was a connection they had because they both tried to overcome it, they both tried to find their own way in life and it was very challenging. Hollywood kids are often miserable, it’s common. … They wanted their own identity, they didn’t want to be called so-and-so’s kid.”

That’s seemingly why Katherine went as far as to file court docs in 2012 to change her name to Katherine Hartley. At the time, she said she wanted to distance herself from her “public figure” father because she was “a psychiatric social worker” and “concerned about potential harassment from future patients resulting from [her] association with [her] father.” She left the West Coast to attend New York University before ultimately returning to the Hollywood Hills, living about a 30-minute drive from her family home. Nick, on the other hand, was said to have resented his famous dad.

Another unfortunate connection? Both of the celeb kids struggled with mental health and spent time in treatment facilities over the years. The source expressed:

“Martin and Rob really looked out for their kids, they were great parents, so the kids could never say they were screwed up because of their parents. That is not easy. There is no one to blame if you are broken. And Katherine and Nick were broken in their own ways.”

Oof. So sad.

As they grew up, Katherine started to grow more distant from Nick, especially when she settled in the Hollywood Hills and he remained living at his parents’ Brentwood home. The source noted:

“Katherine and Nick were not as close in recent years.”

So, she, like many of the Reiners’ friends, was “very upset” to learn of Rob and Michele‘s deaths:

“Katherine was very upset when Rob and his wife died. It was depressing, it really got to the whole [friend] group, so dark, so evil and twisted. She felt repulsed by Nick over the murders. I am sure it weighed on her mental health, it was tough.”

Catherine O’Hara, who died on January 30, was another close family friend, so that loss was also likely weighing heavily on her. Oof. It’s been a very tough year for this friend group. We’re so, so sorry for both the Short and Reiner families as they grieve these tragedies.

If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, help is available. Consider contacting the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, by calling, texting, or chatting, or go to 988lifeline.org.

For resources on mental health, visit https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/find-help.

[Image via Michele Reiner/Instagram & WENN]