Details About Rob Reiner's First Time Meeting His Wife (& How It Changed One Of His Movies)

As fans and celebrities react to the tragic death of "All in the Family" star Rob Reiner, folks are left thinking about the director, writer, and actor's incredible body of work. Among all-time classics like "Stand By Me," "The Princess Bride," and "The American President," Reiner directed one of the most beloved rom-coms of all time: "When Harry Met Sally." And, interestingly, that film became what it is today thanks to what happened when Reiner met his wife Michele.

Rob and Michele Reiner were married for over 35 years before their shocking deaths in December 2025. And their great love story got its start behind the scenes of one onscreen love story we all know well. According to an interview with The Guardian, Reiner never intended for "When Harry Met Sally"'s central couple to live happily ever after together. For romantic comedy fans, it's hard to even imagine this ending. Reiner didn't actually meet Michele until the better part of the movie was filmed, but one day, he saw who he described as a "very attractive woman" on set. While speaking to The Guardian, Reiner said with a smile, "Originally, Harry and Sally didn't get together. But then I met Michele and I thought: OK, I see how this works."

When Nora Ephron wrote "When Harry Met Sally," she based Billy Crystal's titular character, Harry, on Rob Reiner. Like Harry, Reiner was a divorcé. In his interview with The Guardian, Reiner recalled seeing a fellow divorced star on the cover of a magazine when "When Harry Met Sally" was in its early stages. This piqued his interest in pursuing none other than actor Michelle Pfeiffer. "I'd met her a few months before, she seemed like a nice person, and I read she was getting divorced, so I said to ['When Harry Met Sally' director of photography] Barry Sonnenfeld, 'I'm going to give her a call.'" Yet, Sonnenfeld had a prediction about Reiner's future that was a bit different. Not only was his prediction right, but it changed the entire meaning behind "When Harry Met Sally."

And, had Barry Sonnenfeld not intervened, we might all be living in an alternate rom-com reality. "You're not going to call her," Sonnenfeld told Reiner regarding his plan to contact Pfeiffer, per The Guardian. Instead, he insisted, "You're going to marry my friend Michele Singer." When Reiner met Michele and found out that this was who his pal had predicted he'd marry, he was struck with the desire to quickly change Harry and Sally's ending.

Just as Harry and Sally ended up together, so did Reiner and Michele, who went on to have three children. After their 25th wedding anniversary, Reiner talked about how his marriage improved over time. He explained to AARP, "As you go along, the relationship becomes better and better because you really become best friends. And that has happened. She has helped raise me. The thing I talk about, how women show you what's important, she has done for me."