Jake Reiner is opening up about the unimaginable family tragedy that has changed his life forever.
Eight months after his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, were found dead inside their Los Angeles home, Jake sat down for his first television interview since their deaths — and since his younger brother, Nick Reiner, was arrested and charged with their murders.
Speaking with KABC-TV, Jake, 35, offered a heartbreaking glimpse into the reality of losing both parents while simultaneously watching his brother become the central figure in the criminal case surrounding their deaths.
“It’s been eight months,” Jake said (via Page Six). “It feels like eight years at the same time. And it also feels like eight minutes.”
The eldest Reiner son recalled learning that something was terribly wrong after receiving a call from his sister, Romy.
“Romy told me our dad was dead and then she said, ‘I can’t find mom,’” he recalled.
Rob and Michele were found dead at their Brentwood home on December 14, 2025. Their deaths were determined to have resulted from multiple sharp force injuries.
Nick was arrested shortly afterward and has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder. He is currently being held without bail while awaiting further proceedings.
For Jake, however, the legal case is only one part of a much larger nightmare.
“I physically lost my parents. And then Nick was arrested. … He’s in jail,” he explained. “And now it’s me and Romy.”
Jake and Romy previously described their parents as their “best friends” in a joint statement following the killings. Jake later wrote about the devastating loss in an April essay, acknowledging the complicated reality of mourning his parents while his brother was accused of killing them.
“We lost more than half of our family that night in the most violent way imaginable,” he wrote at the time.
Jake also spoke about the unconditional love his parents had for all three of their children, including Nick, who has struggled with addiction and mental health issues for years.
He pointed specifically to the 2015 film Being Charlie, which Nick co-wrote and Rob directed, as an effort by his father to understand and connect with his son.
“My parents had unconditional love for all three of us,” Jake said. “They never stopped wanting to help him.”
Jake and Romy have not attended Nick’s court hearings, although both siblings recently testified before the grand jury that indicted him. The contents of their testimony remain unknown.
Asked about the tragedy and whether he expects to ever understand why it happened, Jake offered a devastatingly simple response.
“I’ll never understand,” he said. “I don’t care what facts come out. I will never understand why this happened.”
Nick’s next pre-trial hearing is scheduled for September 15. He faces life in prison without parole or potentially the death penalty if convicted.
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.