Rob Reiner’s relationship with his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, helped inspire the beloved ending of When Harry Met Sally.
“You want to hear something interesting about that? The original ending of the film we had was that Harry and Sally didn’t get together because I had been married for 10 years,” Rob previously shared in a February 2024 episode of Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace on HBO Max. “I had been single for 10 years, and I couldn’t figure out how I was ever going to be with anybody. That gave birth to When Harry Met Sally.”
Rob was single after his 1981 divorce from actress and director Penny Marshall. His love life, however, helped inspire him to team up with writer Nora Ephron for the 1989 romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally.
“I hadn’t met anybody, so it was going to be the two of them seeing each other, talking and walking away from each other,” Rob explained to host Chris Wallace. “I met my wife, Michele, who I have been married to now [for] 35 years. I met her while we were making the film, and I changed the ending.”
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When Wallace asked if movie fans owe “that tear-jerking ending” to Michele, Rob replied, “That’s right.”
The comments are being surfaced online after Rob and Michele were found dead in their Brentwood, Los Angeles, home on Sunday, December 14. Rob was 78 while Michele was 68.
“It is with profound sorrow that we announce the tragic passing of Michele and Rob Reiner,” a spokesperson for the family said in a statement shared with Variety. “We are heartbroken by this sudden loss, and we ask for privacy during this unbelievably difficult time.”
One day later, Los Angeles Police Department Parker City Jail told Us that the couple’s son Nick Reiner, 32, was arrested on a murder charge.
Rob and Michele also shared kids Jake, 34, and Romy, 28, in addition to the director’s daughter Tracy, 61, whom he adopted while married to the late Marshall.
Rob first shot to fame as Michael “Meathead” Stivic on the hit CBS sitcom All in the Family, created by Norman Lear. He later went on to pursue a career as a film director, working on classics such as This Is Spinal Tap, Stand by Me, The Princess Bride, Misery and A Few Good Men.
Michele was a photographer who explored producing alongside her husband. Together, the pair started the “I Am Your Child” campaign to raise awareness about the importance of early child development and improve parental access to support services.
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In a 1989 interview with The New York Times, Rob recalled the first moment he laid eyes on his future wife while working on When Harry Met Sally, which starred Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan.
“I look over and I see this girl,” he told the publication. “And ‘Whoo!’ I was attracted immediately.”
Multiple outlets reported on Sunday that Crystal, 77, was spotted at the Reiner family home following news of the couple’s death.
