Meg Ryan responded to the deaths of director Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner in an Instagram post Wednesday, sharing the day after their addict son Nick Reiner was charged for their murders that she hopes the tragedy raises “some awareness.”
“I have to believe that their story will not end with this impossible tragedy, that some good may come, some awareness raised,” the “When Harry Met Sally” actress wrote. “I don’t know, but my guess is that they would want that to be hopeful and humane, to be something that brings us all to a greater understanding of one another and to some peace.”
Read the post in full below:
The social media post featured a black and white image of Reiner and Ryan in their younger years dancing hand in hand. “Oh how we will miss this man,” her caption began.
“Thank you, Rob and Michelle, for the way you believe in true love, in fairy tales and in laughter,” Ryan wrote. “Thank you for your faith in the best in people, and for your profound love of our country.”
The actress’ son, Jack Quaid, commented on the post with single heart.
“When Harry Met Sally” stands as one of Ryan’s most beloved performances and helped cement the actress as an icon of the rom-com genre. Opposite Billy Crystal, the 1989 film was written by Nora Ephron and charted the years-long friendship of its titular pair.
The film memorably combined Ephron’s romanticism and Reiner cynicism following his divorce from Penny Marshall. But as he revealed in a 2024 interview with Chris Wallace, he was convinced to change the ending of “When Harry Met Sally” to its romantic conclusion after falling in love with Michele, whom he met while working on the project.
“The original ending of the film that we had was that Harry and Sally didn’t get together,” Reiner said. “I had been married for 10 years, I had been single for 10 years and I couldn’t figure out how I was ever going to be with anybody, and that gave birth to ‘When Harry Met Sally.’ I hadn’t met anybody, and so it was going to be the two of them seeing each other after years, talking and then walking away from each other.”
Reiner has said that meeting Michele convinced him how love can persevere.
Ryan’s “When Harry Met Sally” co-star responded to the Reiners’ death in a joint statement with Albert Brooks and other celebrity friends Tuesday night, writing that the longtime partners were a “special force.”
“Going to the movies in a dark theater filled with strangers having a common experience, laughing, crying, screaming in fear or watching an intense drama unfold is still an unforgettable thrill,” the letter, published by AP News, said. “Tell us a story audiences demand of us. Absorbing all he had learned from his father Carl and his mentor Norman Lear, Rob Reiner not only was a great comic actor, he became a master story teller. There is no other director who has his range. From comedy to drama to ‘mockumentary’ to documentary he was always at the top of his game. He charmed audiences. They trusted him. They lined up to see his films.”
Nick Reiner was formally charged earlier Tuesday with two counts of murder in the first degree, Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced, just two days after Rob and Michele were found stabbed to death in their Brentwood home.
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