Rob Reiner’s youngest son, Nick Reiner, opened up about his struggle with drug addiction years before he was named a person of interest in the tragic stabbing of his parents.
“I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas,” Nick, who first entered rehab at 15, told People in a 2016 interview.
“I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun,” he added.
After refusing to return to rehab for his addiction, Nick cycled in and out of shelters and experienced periods of homelessness.
“I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas,” Nick Reiner, who first entered rehab at 15, told People in a 2016 interview.
“If I wanted to do it my way and not go to the programs they were suggesting, then I had to be homeless,” he added.
Nick, who co-wrote the semi-autobiographical film Being Charlie—inspired by his 17 rehab visits—called his time as a vagrant a formative experience.
“That made me who I am now, having to deal with that stuff,” he said. “I met crazy great people there, so out of my element. Now, I’ve been home for a really long time, and I’ve sort of gotten acclimated back to being in LA and being around my family.”
Nick, who co-wrote the semi-autobiographical film Being Charlie based on his 17 rehab visits, called his time as a vagrant a formative—but often harrowing—experience.
“But there were a lot of dark years there,” he admitted.
He revealed that he “could’ve died” while living on the streets after leaving rehab at 19.
“It’s all luck,” he said. “You roll the dice and you hope you make it.”
Rob Reiner has also spoken candidly about his son’s struggles with addiction.
“It was very, very hard going through it the first time, with these painful and difficult highs and lows,” the director told the LA Times in 2016. “And then making the movie dredged it all up again.”
The couple, married since 1989, were reportedly killed during a heated argument with a family member in their home.
Rob reflected on his son’s struggles with rehab, saying, “Rehab works for some people, but it can’t work for everybody.”
“When Nick would tell us that it wasn’t working for him, we wouldn’t listen,” the All in the Family alum added. “We were desperate, and because the people had diplomas on their walls, we listened to them when we should have been listening to our son.”
Nick Reiner, 32, has been named a person of interest in the deaths of his parents, though no arrests had been made initially.
On Sunday, Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood, California, home. The Emmy-winning director was 78, and Michele, an actress, was 68.
The couple, married since 1989, reportedly had their throats slit during a heated argument with a family member. Their bodies were discovered by their daughter, Romy.
On Monday, Nick, 32, was arrested and charged with murder in connection with his parents’ deaths. His bail has been set at $4 million.
