Nick Reiner may have struggled with self-worth issues growing due to having a famous father like Rob Reiner, addiction expert Richard Taite says

Addiction expert Richard Taite recently told TMZ that Nick Reiner, who has been accused of murdering parents Michele and Rob Reiner, might have suffered from self-worth issues growing up due to his accomplished father. For those uninformed, Reiner, the director of acclaimed movies such as The Princess Bride and When Harry Met Sally, and his wife, Michele, were found murdered in their home in Los Angeles on December 14, 2025.

Later that day, Nick Reiner, the couple's second child, was arrested in connection with their deaths, which were ruled as homicides due to "multiple sharp force injuries." Nick Reiner, who reportedly has a history of mental illness, struggled with addiction and was on medication for schizophrenia before his parents' deaths.

In an interview with TMZ, published on December 25, 2025, addiction-recovery expert Richard Taite shared his views about Nick Reiner's addiction and history of mental illness. Taite, who is the founder and executive chairman of Carrara Treatment, suggested that Nick might have felt the pressure to live up to his father and his grandfather, Carl Reiner, who was also an actor and director.

"Think about it his way. His [Nick's] grandfather was a national treasure. His father was greater than even his grandfather. And he didn't feel, or I believe he didn't feel, that he measured up. And that's painful. That's the type of thing that happens to celebrity children. They think they've got to measure up to their old man when their old man didn't care, and all he wanted to do was love his son," Taite said.

Richard Taite also suggested that Nick Reiner might have received substandard care at the rehab centers he was admitted to, saying:

"Mental illness is almost always attached to drug addiction and alcoholism. They're one and the same, and you treat them like you would treat trauma or some type of mental illness. That's the only way to treat addiction. But...lawyers aren't all the same. Doctors aren't all the same, and treatment centres aren't all the same. There is going to be substandard doctors and lawyers and treatment centres, and that's just the way the world works.

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Nick Reiner previously said he faked being "crazy" for medication

A clip of Nick Reiner recounting an incident of him acting like he was "crazy" to get medication resurfaced online in the wake of his alleged connection to his parents' murders. In 2016, Reiner appeared on Dopey: On the Dark Comedy of Drug Addiction, where he claimed doctors refused to give him Wellbutrin (an antidepressant medication) during his time at Alina Lodge addiction treatment center in New Jersey.

Reiner admitted that the incident was "f**ked up," saying that he threw a rock through a window to get the staff to believe that he needed the medication.

“The way I got Wellbutrin is actually really f**ed up. They refused to give me meds, so to prove I was crazy — ’cause they were like, ‘You don’t need any meds’ and I was freaking out — I was like, ‘You don’t think I need meds?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, we think … this is all just fake,'" he said at the time.

Reiner continued:

“How do I show these motherf**ers that I’m ‘crazy?’ So I was like, I’ll throw a rock through a window... Some woman saw me and she ratted on me and then they put me on Wellbutrin."

Meanwhile, another TMZ report dated December 19, 2025, stated that Nick Reiner had been on medication to treat his schizophrenia. The report further claimed that the medication allegedly made him "erratic and dangerous" in the weeks leading up to his parents' murders.

Sources told the publication that Reiner's behavior became "alarming" months before his parents' deaths. TMZ reported that his doctors changed his prescription three to four weeks before the incident, which resulted in Nick Reiner becoming more "erratic." One source claimed that the 32-year-old's substance abuse was worsening his schizophrenia, while another said, "Nick was out of his head."

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The Reiners' bodies were discovered by their daughter

Nick Reiner was reportedly seen having an argument with his parents at Conan O'Brien's party on December 13, a day before the murders. Rob Reiner's body was found by their youngest child, Romy, and the police were called to their Brentwood home at 3:30 pm on December 14.

An aerial view of director Rob Reiner's home in Brentwood, California (Image via Getty)

According to The New York Times, Romy was unaware that her mother had also been killed, as she had "fled" the house after seeing her father's body. A paramedic reportedly told Romy about her mother's death.

Nick Reiner was arrested at 9:15 pm at the University of Southern California and charged with "two counts of first-degree murder" with a "special allegation" that he "used a dangerous and deadly weapon, that being a knife." On December 17, he made an appearance at court wearing a blue anti-suicide smock.

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Nick Reiner's arraignment is set for January 7, 2026. He is currently detained at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles without bail.

Edited by Juhi Marzia