As the legal case surrounding Nick Reiner continues to unfold, new comments from someone with close ties to the late Rob and Michele Reiner are adding another layer to an already devastating situation. An insider with firsthand knowledge of the Reiners’ values and long-standing commitment to justice is now offering a perspective on how the couple might have felt about what lies ahead for their son.
The new insights come from a People interview with Nanon Williams, a close family friend who has spent decades incarcerated and formed a deep bond with the legendary director and his spouse in the years before their murders. Williams shared:
They’re the type of people who would never want to see anyone suffer. . . . Everything I believe they ever did was about helping and changing things that were broken. They gave life to Nick. They nurtured him. They understood him better than anyone.
Williams, who has been incarcerated since 1992 over a murder for which he still maintains his innocence, first connected with the Reiners after they saw his one-man stage production, Lyrics From Lockdown, in Los Angeles in 2016. The performance, drawn directly from his experience behind bars, sparked a relationship that grew into a lasting bond.
According to Williams, he became “like family” to the Reiners through years of daily emails and weekly phone calls, and he told the outlet that he believes Rob and Michele would not want to see their son suffer, even under the weight of the serious charges he now faces.
Nick Reiner has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of his parents, and he has previously been diagnosed with schizophrenia. The Reiners were deeply aware of Nick’s mental health challenges, says Williams, and spoke openly about them. In his view:
They also understood, and openly shared, that he [Nick] had his own mental challenges for many years. They would have wanted him to get help, and right now, no one knows what that help looks like.
The family insider also reflected on the When Harry Met Sally director’s long-held beliefs about justice and legacy. Williams described the family patriarch and filmmaker as someone who fought for what he believed in. He continued:
When he sees something he doesn't like, he fights against it...He believed in America and fighting for things and watching them change.
Williams suggested, the Reiners outlook on justice naturally extends to what they would want for Nick and how he's treated now, with an emphasis on help, treatment, and humanity rather than purely punitive outcomes.
The comments are particularly striking given Williams’ own history. The entertainment industry power couple were active supporters of his efforts to seek freedom through the Georgetown University Making an Exoneree program. Williams credits the couple with giving him hope and treating him as family long before their advocacy became public.
He emphasized that Rob and Michele operated as a genuine partnership, both personally and in the causes they supported. Williams described them as inseparable, highlighting that Rob's leadership was balanced by Michele's equal presence and influence, noting that their shared joy, humor, and empathy were fundamental to their approach in all aspects of life, including parenting.
That sense of continuity appears to be carrying on through the Reiner children. Williams reported that Jake and Romy Reiner have remained in contact with him following their parents’ deaths, reaffirming their commitment to the causes their parents supported and emphasizing that he remains part of their family.
The legal process surrounding Nick Reiner is still ongoing. What lies ahead for Reiner, whose own lawyer recently stepped away from the case, is unclear, but one thing is for sure: Williams’ perspective adds a profoundly human dimension to the story.
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