Rob and Michele Reiner’s “egocentric” son, Nick Reiner — who has been arrested on charges of murder in their stabbing deaths — had serious “behavioral issues” from a very young age, Page Six is told.
In an interview the day after news broke, Alanna Zabel — who taught Rob and Michele yoga for many years in the early 2000s — told us that Nick, now 32, “interrupted pretty much all of [their] yoga sessions” at the family’s Los Angeles home.
She said the disruption lasted “20 minutes or so,” elaborating to the Daily Mail that the outbursts were “intense” and involved a lot of “screaming.”
Eventually, Zabel — who has a degree in child development — told us that “Rob and Michelle asked [her] to do yoga with Nicky privately,” hoping it would help calm his seemingly heightened nervous system.
She agreed, describing Nick as “this little boy” with “behavioral issues” who “was always upsetting everyone” but “trying to figure it out.”
“Boys are wild in general, not just Nicky,” she made sure to note. “And so I would always focus on the physicality: ‘Let me teach him how to do a handstand, let me teach him how to do crow so he can feel this sense of accomplishment in his body.’
“I really focused our sessions on trying to exhaust him so that I could get to that place of connection and mindfulness,” she went on. “But I rarely got there because he was just inexhaustible.”
Zabel recalled Nick being unusually energetic and wondered whether attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder was ever at play, as children and teens with ADHD are more likely to abuse substances, according to the Child Mind Institute.
Nick has been battling drug addiction for more than half his life.
“That kind of energy requires a lot of disarming,” Zabel stressed. “But I know a lot of kids who were of that intensity who turned out to be well-adjusted adults.”
Zabel pointed out that there are always many “variables” to consider when it comes to a child’s behavior, including genetic components.
“There’s also the fact that [the Reiners live] in Hollywood. I have witnessed the children of Hollywood personalities have a really difficult time [because they are] living in a fantasy world. The parents are prioritizing many things, including them, but there’s often a perception of negligence,” she said.
“Then living in a major city, where drugs are so accessible. You can use the name of someone, and it can lead kids down the wrong road if they don’t have the right guidance.”
In Nick’s case, however, Zabel feels he did have the right guidance, as Rob and Michele did everything in their power to help their son. She claimed they tackled his problems “head-on,” even though they were “passionate” people with very demanding lives.
But Nick “chose a negative perception” of his circumstances and took on “a personal neglect,” Zabel claimed, elaborating that he had “an egocentric mindset.”
She opined, “I really think that he took on a lot of things that he didn’t need to.”
Zabel’s experience with Nick inspired her to write her first children’s book, “A Chair in the Air,” which tells the story of a boy named “Nicky” who “is full of big feelings and even bigger energy.”
Zabel, 53, told us Rob and Michele gave her their blessing to tell the story but chose not to participate in the book’s publication at the recommendation of their family’s therapist.
“I believe that there’s an epidemic of life moving so fast that parents, teachers, principals, anyone in charge of children, they’re moving so fast that they aren’t giving proper attention,” Zabel argued. “And children need attention in order to thrive and to feel whole and secure.”
She concluded with “advice” to parents and guardians: “Make sure that you are present and grounded and giving proper attention.”
Rob was 78, and Michele was 68. They are survived by son Jake Reiner, 34, and daughter Romy Reiner, 28. The actor-director also had a stepdaughter whom he adopted, Tracy Reiner, 61, from his first marriage to Penny Marshall.
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