Jake Reiner Speaks Out 8 Months After Parents Rob and Michele’s Murders

Jake Reiner is opening up about the devastating loss of his parents, Rob and Michele Reiner, as his younger brother Nick Reiner faces murder charges in their deaths.

Eight months after Rob and Michele were fatally stabbed in their Brentwood, Calif., home, Jake sat down for his first interview following the murders, speaking with KABC-TV’s Mark Cota-Robles about his parents, his childhood and how his life has changed since the tragedy.

“My parents had unconditional love for all three of us,” Jake said in a portion of the interview that aired Thursday, Aug. 27, on Good Morning America.

For Jake, the eight months since his parents’ deaths have felt both impossibly long and startlingly immediate.

“It’s been 8 months. It feels like 8 years at the same time. And it also feels like 8 minutes,” he said. “Because every moment that I wake up, I’m reminded of my reality.”

Jake also recalled the phone call from his sister Romy that first alerted him to what had happened. “Romy told me our dad was dead and then she said, ‘I can’t find mom,’” he said.

Nick, 32, was arrested hours after his parents were found dead on Dec. 14, 2025. He has since been indicted on two counts of first-degree murder in connection with their deaths and has pleaded not guilty.

Asked about previously describing the aftermath as losing more than half of his family — including Nick — Jake acknowledged that his brother’s arrest has compounded his grief.

“Yeah. I mean, he’s in jail, so … ,” Jake noted, struggling to find words. “You know, it’s … I physically lost my parents. And then Nick was arrested. And now it’s me and Romy.”

Just last week, on Aug. 19, PEOPLE exclusively reported that Jake and Romy testified before the Los Angeles grand jury that indicted their brother.

The indictment, returned in July and unsealed Aug. 12, also added a special circumstance allegation that the murders were committed by means of lying in wait, as well as an allegation involving the use of a knife, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors allege that Nick fatally stabbed Rob and Michele inside their home in the early morning hours of Dec. 14. He was arrested later that day near the University of Southern California and has remained in custody without bail at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles.

Nick is scheduled to return to court for a pretrial hearing on Sept. 15. If convicted as charged, he faces the possibility of death or life in prison without the possibility of parole. Prosecutors have not yet announced whether they will seek the death penalty.

In the months since their parents’ deaths, Jake and Romy have sought to honor Rob and Michele’s legacy. During the interview, Jake highlighted his work with the Los Angeles-based Children’s Institute, which has established the Michele and Rob Reiner Champion for Change Award in their honor.

KABC-TV announced that longtime family friend Jamie Lee Curtis will be the award’s first recipient.

In the immediate aftermath of Rob and Michele’s deaths, Curtis told PEOPLE that she and husband Christopher Guest were were “numb and sad and shocked about the violent, tragic deaths of our dear friends.” She added their “ONLY focus and care right now is for their children and immediate families and we will offer all support possible to help them.”

Though the KABC-TV conversation marks Jake’s first sit-down interview since his parents’ deaths, he previously opened up about the tragedy in a raw personal essay published on Substack in April.

In the essay, Jake described his life since losing Rob and Michele as a “living nightmare” and wrote about the painful realization that his parents would miss milestones he had expected to share with them.

“My parents won’t be at my wedding, they won’t get to hold their future grandchild, and they won’t get to see me have the successful career I’m still seeking,” he wrote. “It simultaneously breaks my heart and enrages me.”

Jake also addressed the complicated loss of his brother, writing that he and Romy had “lost more than half of our family that night in the most violent way imaginable.”

“Sure, any loss of a parent is devastating, but nothing compares to losing both of them at the same time and, on top of that, having your brother be at the center of it,” he wrote. “It’s almost too impossible to process.”

Jake’s full interview with Cota-Robles, which lasted more than an hour, is set to air Thursday evening on KABC-TV, with additional portions airing Friday on Good Morning America.