Rita Wilson paid an emotional tribute to her late friends, Rob and Michele Reiner, saying that the couple “loved their kids” and “did everything right.”
Rob, 78, and Michele, 70, were found dead inside their home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles on Sunday, December 14, with apparent stab wounds. Their son, Nick, 32, was charged Tuesday, December 16, with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the slayings.
“They made the world a better place. They loved their kids. Each one. They did everything right. They loved. They were loved,” Wilson, 69, wrote in an essay for Variety published on Wednesday, December 17.
Wilson appeared alongside actor and filmmaker Rob in Sleepless in Seattle — which also starred her husband, Tom Hanks — and was directed by Rob in 1999’s The Story of Us.
“It’s hard to reconcile the goodness they offered to the world with this ending,” the actress wrote. “It doesn’t make sense. But how they lived makes all the sense in the world.”
The Too Much actress shared how she not only remembered the “work we did together,” but “running into Rob and Michele in the neighborhood and having a great laugh, or having dinner where Michele insists on having only one conversation.”
“Michele was a talented photographer who had a keen eye in her work and in her life,” she added. “Her mother survived the Holocaust. Still, Michele found beauty every day. Rob made history in multiple ways through his work. … Both of them made a difference in their civic contributions and actions.”
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled Rob and Michele’s causes of death as the result of “multiple sharp force injuries.”
Nick appeared in court for the first time in connection with the murders on Wednesday, wearing a suicide prevention vest. His attorney, Alan Jackson, did not enter a plea on his behalf. His arraignment on the two charges of murder will continue on January 7, 2026.
Nick spoke only briefly during Wednesday’s court appearance, responding, “Yes, your honor,” when the judge asked him if he was certain he wanted to waive his right to a fast arraignment, per People.
Nick’s siblings, Jake, 34, and Romy, 27, broke their silence over their parents’ deaths for the first time on Wednesday.
“Words cannot even begin to describe the unimaginable pain we are experiencing every moment of the day. The horrific and devastating loss of our parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, is something that no one should ever experience,” they said in a statement to TMZ. “They weren’t just our parents; they were our best friends.”
The statement continued, “We are grateful for the outpouring of condolences, kindness, and support we have received not only from family and friends but people from all walks of life.”
“We now ask for respect and privacy, for speculation to be tempered with compassion and humanity, and for our parents to be remembered for the incredible lives they lived and the love they gave,” they concluded.
Rob also shared an adopted daughter, Tracy, with his late first wife, director Penny Marshall.
