Nick Reiner’s former yoga teacher has claimed Nick would regularly interrupt his mother Michele Singer Reiner’s classes with “an intense issue or meltdown” when he was a child.
Speaking to People on Friday, December 19, instructor Alanna Zabel recalled Nick, 32, making Michele’s yoga sessions difficult when she taught the family (Zabel was the Reiner family’s yoga instructor until 2010.)
Zabel told the outlet Nick “was notorious” for interrupting the class with drama, which she claimed made things hard for Michele, 70.
“We never could get through one single yoga session without Nicky barging in and having an intense issue or meltdown, and it would really break up the flow of a yoga class,” she said.
Michele and her husband, acclaimed director Rob Reiner, 78, were found dead from apparent stab wounds in their Brentwood, California, home on Sunday, December 14. After being named a person of interest, Nick was later arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He faces life in prison without parole or the death penalty if convicted, and his arraignment is set for January 7, 2026. (As well as Nick, Rob and Michele shared kids Jake, 34, and Romy, 27. Rob was also the adoptive father of ex-wife Penny Marshall’s daughter, Tracy, 61, from a previous relationship.)
In the interview with People on Friday, Zabel went on to share that Michele and Rob asked her to teach Nick yoga in one-on-one sessions “to help him to calm down and channel his energy” after he previously was involved in group classes.
After the private classes went well, the yoga instructor was inspired to write the children’s book A Chair in the Air, which was loosely based on Nick.
The book follows the journey of overly energetic main character Nicky, who “learns how to regulate his emotions a little bit more and just to be more accountable for his behaviors.”
According to Zabel, Nick’s childhood behavior was “a perfect storm… one of those things where, as hard as they tried to manage it, get help, address it, it’s just beyond any of us to be able to diffuse.”
Zabel also praised Michelle as a “very, very passionate” mother who “lived for those kids,” adding, “She was just very gracious and lovely.”
For his part, Nick has previously commented on his aggressive behavior issues and admitted to destroying his parents’ guesthouse while in the midst of addiction.
“It’s not much of a story,” Nick said on an August 2018 episode of the “Dopey” podcast. “I got totally spun out on uppers — I think it was coke and something else — and I was up for days on end. I started punching out different things in my guesthouse.”
He added, “I went 10 rounds in my guesthouse. I literally punched the TV.”
Nick has spoken candidly about his addiction struggles in the past, including his drug use as a teenager. His addiction issues led to his first rehab stint at age 15 and becoming homeless after several relapses.
After getting clean, Nick cowrote 2015 movie Being Charlie, inspired by his struggles. The film followed the ups and downs of a family dealing with a son’s addiction. Rob served as the movie’s director.
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
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