Nick Reiner, the son of late filmmaker Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, was arrested in connection with their deaths in December 2025. Nick, 32, was taken into police custody the morning after his parents were found dead in their Los Angeles home.
On December 16, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced that his office will file murder charges against Nick: two counts of first-degree murder with a special circumstance alleging multiple murders, per NBC News.
Many are curious about the screenwriter’s past relationship with Rob and Michele and his drug addiction, which he opened up about a decade ago.
Learn about Nick’s troubled past, including his relationship with his mother and father, here.
Has Nick Reiner Ever Been Arrested?
It doesn’t appear that Nick was ever arrested prior to his December 2025 arrest in connection with his parents’ deaths.
Nick Reiner’s Past Drug Addiction
Nick has a known history of heroin addiction, according to The Independent. His difficult journey began when he was 15 years old, and he was in rehab almost 20 times throughout his life.
As a screenwriter, Nick channeled his personal life in his 2015 film, Being Charlie, which follows an 18-year-old drug addict. Nick’s father, Rob, directed the production.
In 2015, Nick revealed to People that he was homeless quite a few times, and in different states, as a result of his previous addiction.
“I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas,” Nick recalled. “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.”
Despite the difficulties, Nick pointed out that his experiences “made me who I am now, having to deal with that stuff.”
“I met crazy great people there, so out of my element,” he added in his interview. “Now, I’ve been home for a really long time, and I’ve sort of gotten acclimated back to being in L.A. and being around my family. But there was a lot of dark years there.”
Rob Reiner and son Nick Reiner talking about their film ‘Being Charlie’ pic.twitter.com/81nPunuQmx
— Tim Conway Jr Show (@ConwayShow) December 15, 2025
Nick Reiner’s Relationship With Parents Rob & Michele
Nick opened up about his past complicated relationship with Rob and Michele during a May 2016 interview with the “BUILD Series.”
“It really clicked for me, because we didn’t bond a lot as a kid,” Nick explained. “[My dad] really liked baseball, I like basketball, and he could watch that with my brother, baseball. But when I saw him do that [directing], 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.”
Rob and Michele echoed their son’s statement during a previous interview with the Los Angeles Times in September 2015.
“When Nick would tell us that it wasn’t working for him, we wouldn’t listen,” the When Harry Met Sally… director admitted at the time. “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 also confessed, “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.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
