'I could've died': When Nick Reiner revealed his harrowing battle with drug addiction and early rehab struggles at 15

TRIGGER WARNING: This article contains sensitive content related to substance abuse, suicide and harassment. Reader discretion is advised.Disclaimer: This topic involves sensitive content. If you or someone you know is experiencing harassment or struggling with alcohol or substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, depression, or mental illness, please seek immediate help.

Reach out to a mental health specialist, NGO, or trusted individual. Several helplines are available to offer assistance.Rob Reiner, the acclaimed Hollywood filmmaker and actor, was found dead alongside his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, at their Los Angeles home around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, December 14. Their son, Nick Reiner, has been accused of killing them. Nick had earlier spoken publicly about his struggle with drug addiction, revealing that he was sent to his first rehabilitation center when he was about 15 years old.

Turning his struggles into a story

In 2015, he co-wrote ‘Being Charlie’, a film directed by his father, Rob Reiner, and inspired by his personal battles with heroin addiction and life on the streets. The movie’s protagonist, Charlie Mills (played by

Nick Robinson

), struggles with issues of substance abuse and briefly experiences homelessness. Reflecting on that difficult chapter in a 2016 interview with PEOPLE, he said, "I was homeless in Maine. I was homeless in New Jersey.

I was homeless in Texas. I spent nights on the street. I spent weeks on the street. It was not fun."

Refusing rehab and facing the streets

Nick also admitted that he resisted going back to rehab, choosing instead to move between shelters as he tried to manage his recovery on his own terms. His refusal to follow the recommended programs eventually left him living on the streets.

A new chapter at 19

At 19, after leaving rehab for the last time, Nick said he began channeling his energy into creative work, co-writing ‘Being Charlie’, developing new scripts, and focusing on staying sober so he would never find himself homeless again.

"When I was out there, I could've died. It’s all luck. You roll the dice and you hope you make it", he added.

Finding meaning in the darkness

Reflecting on his past, Nick said the experience offered lessons that went far beyond the process of writing the film. "That made me who I am now, having to deal with that stuff. I met crazy great people there, so out of my element. Now, I’ve been home for a really long time, and I’ve sort of gotten acclimated back to being in L.A. and being around my family. But there was a lot of dark years there," he concluded.