Friends Say Nick Reiner Was A 'Ticking Time Bomb'

Friends and family insiders have revealed that warning signs surrounding Nick Reiner had been building for years before his shocking arrest on suspicion of his parents’ murders. 

The 32-year-old son of filmmaker Rob Reiner and Michele Singer Reiner is now at the center of a devastating family tragedy, with sources describing escalating drug use, violent outbursts, and repeated clashes inside his parents’ Brentwood home. 

As disturbing details resurface, including past admissions from Nick himself, those closest to the family say the outcome feels tragically inevitable.

Nick had been living in his parents’ Brentwood guesthouse for nearly five years, a situation insiders say became increasingly volatile as his drug use worsened. 

A source close to the family told the Daily Mailthat the guesthouse, which the screenwriter had destroyed more than once, became a revolving door throughout his adult life. 

According to the insider, Nick would go days without sleep while using meth, leading to violent outbursts that included punching walls and breaking property.

“He was a ticking time bomb. His drug use was getting worse, and his parents wanted him out,” the source claimed. 

They added that Nick often laughed off the destruction he caused, bragging about how he could get away with anything. 

The situation reportedly intensified as his parents issued ultimatums, demanding he take medication, stop using drugs, or move out, confrontations that frequently erupted into fights.

As Nick Reiner’s behavior spiraled, sources say confrontations inside the home became more alarming. 

According to one insider, he frequently took money from his parents for drugs and prostitutes and showed little remorse afterward. 

The source claimed he spoke openly about his behavior in recovery meetings before abruptly quitting, dismissing them as “too cultish.”

The situation escalated further when Nick allegedly began threatening his sister after she confronted him. 

“When he started threatening his sister for confronting him, that’s when all hell broke loose,” the insider explained. 

At that point, Rob and Michele reportedly considered calling authorities multiple times but ultimately chose not to. 

Friends say this period marked a turning point, with Nick increasingly losing control and refusing help even after injuring himself during violent episodes.

Nick previously described one of his most destructive episodes during a 2018 appearance on the “Dopey” podcast.

When host David Mannheim asked, “What about when you wrecked the guesthouse on meth?” 

Nick responded candidly, saying, “I got totally spun out on uppers. I think it was Coke and something else. I was up for days on end.”

He went on to describe destroying nearly everything inside the guesthouse. 

“I started punching out different things in my guest house. I started with the TV and then went over to the lamp. Everything in the guesthouse got wrecked,” he said. 

When asked if the violence was a way to release tension, Nick replied bluntly, “No, you’re crazy. No logic.”

Police arrested Nick Reiner around 9:15 p.m. on Sunday on suspicion of a felony after his sister, Romy, reportedly discovered their parents’ bodies inside their Chadbourne Avenue home. 

Both Rob and Michele Reiner had suffered multiple stab wounds. 

Sources said a masseuse had arrived earlier that afternoon for an appointment but left after receiving no response at the door, prompting Romy to check on her parents.

The arrest came amid resurfaced accounts of Nick’s long struggle with addiction. In a 2016 interview with PEOPLE Magazine, he admitted to experiencing homelessness during his years of substance abuse. 

“I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey. I was homeless in Texas,” he said. “I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun.”

On Monday, friends told the Daily Mail that Nick’s struggles began long before his addiction took hold. According to insiders, he was an “intense kid” who had difficulty regulating emotions.

This led his parents to seek professional help early on. Celebrity yoga teacher Alanna Zabel, who worked with the Reiner family for nearly a decade, recalled Nick’s extreme behavior during childhood.

“Nicky would barge in like the world was on fire, screaming, into our yoga sessions,” she said. “He was really screaming, I have never seen a child like it.” 

Zabel said she held private sessions to help calm him and noted that the family even hired a therapist. 

“The fact that they were seeing a family therapist shows how much they cared,” she added, describing Rob and Michele as “passionate, hands-on parents, who tried relentlessly to help their son.