Jake Reiner, the son of late actor-director Rob Reiner, says he’s still learning to accept the reality of his day-to-day life as the one-year anniversary of the fatal stabbings of his father and mother, photographer Michele Reiner, approaches.

The 34-year-old sat down with California’s KABC-TV this week for his first on-camera interview since December 2025, when Rob Reiner, 78, and Michele Reiner, 70, were found dead at their Los Angeles home. His younger brother, Nick Reiner, is currently facing first-degree murder charges in their parents’ deaths.

“It’s been eight months. It feels like eight years, at the same time, and it also feels like eight minutes,” Jake Reiner told journalist Marc Cota-Robles. “Because every moment that I wake up, I’m reminded of my reality, and you’re living through that every single day.”

The conversation took an emotional turn as Jake Reiner recalled learning of his parents’ murders via a phone call with his sister, Romy Reiner. At the time, Jake Reiner was attending a celebration of life event for a high school friend at Los Angeles’ Union Station.

Watch a clip of Jake Reiner’s KABC-TV interview below.

“I didn’t get to stop it from happening. I had no choice in the matter,” he said. “I just have to accept the reality of it. And to me, that is just one of the most infuriating parts of all of this.”

Nick Reiner, 32, was taken into custody Dec. 14, not long after the bodies of Rob Reiner ― who directed “When Harry Met Sally” and “Misery,” among other acclaimed films ― and Michele Reiner were discovered. In February, he pleaded not guilty to the murder charges, which carry a maximum sentence of life without possibility of parole or the death penalty.

Earlier this month, Nick Reiner’s defense team petitioned a Los Angeles court to grant their client access to a $1.5 million trust fund his parents set up for him, while reportedly arguing that $200,000 has already been spent by its trustees since he was charged with his parents’ murder.

A hearing has been set for October to consider the account’s access, NBC Los Angeles reported. Nick Reiner is scheduled to return to court Sept. 15 for a pretrial hearing.

Both Jake and Romy Reiner testified before the grand jury that indicted Nick Reiner in July, Entertainment Weekly reported last week. In his WABC-TV interview, however, Jake Reiner was mostly tight-lipped on the specific allegations leveled against his younger brother, whose past experiences with drug and alcohol addiction and mental health issues were well-documented.

He also said he has not spoken directly with Nick Reiner since his arrest and has not attended any of his brother’s court hearings.

“You know, it’s like I physically lost my parents, and then Nick was arrested,” he said. “Now it’s just me and Romy.”

“My parents had unconditional love for all three of us, and I’ll never understand,” he continued. “I don’t care how it’s explained to me. I don’t care what facts come out. I’ll never understand why this happened.”

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