According to law enforcement sources cited by NBC News, the couple’s 32-year-old son Nick Reiner, who co-wrote his dad's 2015 drama Being Charlie based on his addiction struggles, has been arrested in connection with their deaths.
But the beginning for Rob and Michele, the part where they realized they wanted the rest of their life to start right now, was truly sweeter than fiction.
"I made this movie because I had been married for 10 years and I was single for 10 years, making a mess out of my dating life," Rob explained during a September appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show. "I'm in and out of relationships. I don't know what the heck I'm doing. And that became the basis for When Harry Met Sally...."
Which meant his stars, Meg Ryan iconically stepping in as the very particular Sally after Rob split with McGovern, "didn't get together because I didn't know how that was ever going to happen," he noted. "And so at the end of the movie, we had it where they run into each other in the street, they talk, and then they walk in opposite directions."
Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
But IRL he was very much the one creating his own happily ever after.
Seven months after that initial meet-cute, he and Michele—who also worked as a photographer on the MysteryDisc video games—married in 1989, the same year When Harry Met Sally... hit theaters.
Going on to welcome sons Jake Reiner and Nick in 1991 and 1993, respectively, and youngest daughter Romy Reiner in 1997, the Los Angeles-based pair also collaborated professionally.
In addition to appearing in the 1994 comedy Mixed Nuts, Michele served as a producer on many of her husband's projects, the pair earning an Emmy nomination for the 2023 documentary Albert Brooks: Defending My Life and most recently teaming up for God & Country, a 2024 documentary exploring the emergence of Christian nationalism.
Rob, meanwhile, amassed a collection of career wins, directing The Princess Bride, Rumor Has It... and 2025's Spinal Tap II: The End Continues and acting in projects like The First Wives Club, The Wolf of Wall Street, New Girl and The Bear, enjoying a four-episode stint as a business manager hired to help guide the restaurant this past year.
Though he received Golden Globe nods for directing The American President, When Harry Met Sally..., Stand By Me and A Few Good Men and an Oscar nomination for producing the latter, his goal was always just to have a good time.
"I want everyone around me to feel comfortable and happy," he noted to The Guardian in 2018. "And then I can come into work and be like: 'Hey, I get to spend today with these people today! Isn’t that great? Aren’t I lucky?'"
He created quite the rapport with those he worked with judging by the tributes that have poured in since his and Michele's deaths. Keep reading to see how the pair will be remembered.
The actress, who Rob Reiner adopted during his marriage to late ex Penny Marshall, said she saw her dad at a family gathering the day before he and his wife Michele Singer Reiner were found dead in an apparent homicide at their Los Angeles home.
“I came from the greatest family ever,” she told NBC News in a Dec. 14 statement. “I don’t know what to say. I’m in shock.”
"One of my most cherished pictures," the A Simple Favor director captioned on X. "Rob was my true hero. A true visionary titan and a lovely lovely person."
He continued, "One never knows if it’s proper to post during something as tragic as this. But I just want the world to know what so many of us know in the industry. Rob was the best."
After news of Rob and Michele's passing broke, the Magic of Belle Isle star wrote on Instagram of her director and his wife, "God be with those who love them. Thank you Rob for giving us so much joy to hold on to."
"The humor is smart and the heart is real," the actor, who costarred with Rob's dad Carl Reiner in 2003's Good Boy!, shared on X. "His films were part of the air for us. Grateful for what he made, and for what he and his wife gave the world.
The Misery star said she was "absolutely devasted" by the news of Rob's death.
"I loved Rob," Kathy, who worked with the director in the 1990 film, told NBC in a statement. "He was brilliant and kind, a man who made films of every genre to challenge himself as an artist."
She continued, "He changed the course of my life. Michele was a gifted photographer. She shot my beautiful photos for the Misery campaign. My heart breaks for them both. My thoughts are with their family."
"Shocked by the death of Rob Reiner," the actor shared on X, 40 years after working with the director in 1985's The Sure Thing. "A great man."
The actor, who worked with the director in the 1994 movie North, wrote on X, "Horrified to hear of the passing of Rob Reiner and his wonderful wife Michelle [sic]. So much love to their kids and family."
"Rob Reiner was one of my favorite directors," the Zoolander alum shared on X. "He made some of the most formative movies for my generation. He came out form behind a huge comedic shadow of the great Carl Reiner and being a tv actor to being a a great director who made an incredible run of movies."
He continued, "Spinal Tap is one of the best comedies ever made—and the list goes on. He was a kind caring person who was really really funny."
"I’m absolutely shocked and horrified to hear about Rob Reiner and his wife Michele," the comedian wrote on X. "This is a travesty. Praying for swift justice. Sympathies to their family and children. I’m at a loss for words."
"Grieving the loss of my favorite director of all-time," the Emmy winner shared on Instagram. "A Few Good Men is THE reason I became an actor, and Rob’s filmography behind the camera is THE reason I wanted to direct and still do."
He added, "I hate that Rob and his wife are gone from this world, but they sure as hell impacted me and countless others while here."
In the wake of Rob and Michele's death, the musician recalled meeting the couple while working on the yet-to-be released Spinal Tap at Stonehenge: The Final Finale.
"He and Michele made me feel like family and gave me an incredible opportunity to fulfill a dream," Josh shared on Instagram. "There was laughter and love and song and it was a memory I will cherish forever. I'm stunned and deeply saddened and sending my love to their family.
"He was one of the greatest directors of our time. He was a friend. He was simply a beautiful person," the Frozen star wrote on Facebook. "Rob Reiner and his wife Michelle [sic] were two of the most kind and caring souls you could ever imagine. He cared so much for those who had no voices. This loss is devastating. I cannot express how much this hurts."
"I am deeply saddened," the comedian shared on X. "One of the most accomplished American directors who ever lived, his movies have been adored by generations, but I will remember him most for making me laugh my guts out with my Dad watching the greatest American tv show of all time, All In The Family."
