By Lisa Respers France, CNN
(CNN) — For a time in the 1990s, Rob Reiner turned his attention from the movies that had made him famous towards a particular passion project.
Attachment theory was the growing rage — the idea that a child needs to form secure bonds with a caregiver in the first three years of life in order to develop in a healthy and stable way. Reiner founded “I Am Your Child,” an advocacy group designed to raise awareness.
It was in that capacity that he made his way to the studios of Charlie Rose in June 1997.
“I’ve been thinking about this for almost 20 years,” he told Rose. Now that he had found success, using his platform to work on the subject “is the greatest thrill of my life,” he said. “I hate to say it but, if I could make a living, you know, doing this, I wouldn’t make films.”
It was a big statement, but one grounded in Reiner’s beliefs. “Successful attachment early on holds you in very good stead later on in life,” he told Rose. “You will not find one single person in jail for a violent crime who had a great childhood.”
At the time, Nick Reiner was three years old. Twenty-eight years later he would stand accused of murdering his parents.
The Reiners spoke openly and often about their love for their children, who in addition to Nick include son Jake Reiner, 34, daughter Romy, 27 and Tracy, 61, who Rob Reiner adopted during a previous marriage to the celebrated director Penny Marshall.
Michele Reiner’s Instagram features glowing photos and proud boasts about her kids, while Rob Reiner was a common presence in Romy Reiner’s social media in particular, where she appeared to revel in the time they spent together, swimming in the sea or regularly cutting his hair.
Reiner was reportedly so enamored with fatherhood that he had the word “dad” as part of his email address.
The Reiners had differing parenting styles and spoke about the tension it caused in their relationship when the kids were little.
“We had different ways of going about it,” Rob Reiner said during an appearance with Michele on the “Double Date with Marlo Thomas & Phil Donahue” podcast in October 2022. Asked about the biggest challenges in their marriage, Rob Reiner said it was “different issues with the kids.”
Michele Reiner jumped in with an example. “When the boys were little — like 4 and 6, before our daughter was born— I said we really need to teach them how to make a bed and our oldest son Jake goes, ‘But daddy, you don’t make your bed,’” she recalled. “And Rob went ‘He’s right.’… Even the kids complain that there aren’t enough boundaries and they weren’t disciplined enough.”
Rob Reiner replied that he “got that from my parents. They never disciplined me.” Then he added: “You got your kids, you love your kids and hopefully they do the right thing.”
The Reiners were also very open about Nick’s struggles with substance abuse, which included revolving stays in rehab and periods of homelessness. Rob and N