Jake Reiner, the older son of , in his first detailed public statement of his experience said that losing both your parents has been “too devastating to comprehend”. Jake Reiner says that each morning, he has to remind himself that it really happened. “This truly is my living nightmare,” he said.
In a post on Substack on Friday, April 24, Jake Reiner shares his sweetest memories of the beloved Hollywood director and the photographer and philanthropist who was his wife for 36 years. And he also described the on December 14 in the Los Angeles home he grew up in.
He said, “Nothing can prepare you for what it feels like to lose both parents instantly at the same time. It’s too devastating to comprehend. I still wake up every morning having to convince myself that, no, it’s not a dream. This truly is my living nightmare.”
Speaking of his brother Nick Reiner, who is accused of killing their parents, Jake Reiner made only small mentions of his younger brother.
“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,” Jake Reiner said.
How did Jake find out about his parents?
In his post, Jake Reiner said that he received the news of his parents’ death when he was at one of his friends’ memorial service. He said ; minutes later, she called to inform him that their mother was also dead.
“I received a call from my sister Romy telling me our father was dead,” he said. “Minutes later, she called back telling me our mother was also dead.”
He says his parents “were robbed of so many things that day” and that it “simultaneously breaks my heart and enrages me.”
Jake said he cannot stop thinking how frightened they must have been in their final moments.
Speaking more about his father, Jake Reiner said, “The way my dad presented himself in the public eye was exactly the beautiful person he was at home. He was authentic, passionate, and his sense of humor has always been my sense of humor.”
The two especially connected over baseball.
“We loved the Dodgers more than anything,” he writes. “We went to so many damn games.”
On his mother, Jake said, she was “the engine, the backbone, and the heart of our entire family. And not just our immediate family. She was the reason behind why we spent time with our extended family too.”
“My mom was really funny and constantly complained about how nobody in the family thought she was,” he writes.
