The former ‘toyboy’ boyfriend of fashion icon Calvin Klein has been accused of being a drug-slinging ‘nightmare’ roommate from hell.
Nick Gruber captured tabloid headlines over a decade ago during his two-year relationship with Klein, but admitted the breakdown of the high-profile tryst left him ‘chasing the lights’ of fame and ‘haunted’ by drugs.
His Parkinson’s-stricken landlord, Richard Jones, told ABC7 the issues began during the pandemic when he and his husband Alfonso Monreal rented out a room to help them with the bills, and were introduced to Gruber.
They said that although Gruber appeared ‘nice’ and ‘polite’ at first, before long they realized he was a drug-pusher, leading to a years-long legal saga that has left Jones devastated and broke.
Gruber dated Klein for two years from 2010, and was the fashion legend’s first openly gay relationship. Their tryst was often documented in the media, not least because of their 48-year age difference.
He worked as a model for a time, but admitted that after the end of his relationship, he was still ‘chasing the lights’ of fame – leading to a party lifestyle that included several arrests, including assaulting someone with a frying pan and stealing drugs.
‘And after the separation, you know, the drugs kind of followed me a little bit and haunted me over the years, and it was something I had to deal with,’ Gruber recalled.
In 2021, Jones met Gruber through friends at the same time he was renting a room from his Santa Rosa home, and the former ‘boytoy’ moved in soon after.
However, Jones said his sleepy neighborhood was soon plagued by cars and men dropping by his home at all hours of the night.
Neighbors told ABC7 that they assumed the strange activity was drug related, but had no proof until police were called in 2021 to a landlord-tenant dispute at the home.
While the exact nature of the dispute is not clear, Santa Rosa police found Gruber was on probation from a previous drug arrest, meaning they were able to carry out a warrantless search of his property.
In Gruber’s part of the home, officers found a locked safe stashed with a semi-automatic firearm, nine pounds of meth, and $10,000 in cash, Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Patricia Seffens said.
Gruber insists he was not a drug dealer, but admits he was a ‘broker’ in the ‘drug industry.’
‘I would just – I’ll call the client, and then I would get a hold of the person who’s the supplier and arrange the deals,’ he said.
Gruber was arrested following the search and charged with possession for sale of a controlled substance, in excess of methamphetamine, possession of a firearm by a felon, identity theft and forgery.
He served two years in prison for the offenses, but his release only brought more trouble for Jones and Monreal.
Following Gruber’s release in 2023, the former model tracked down the couple at their new home in Oakland, California, and demanded Jones returned all of the belongings he left behind while he was behind bars.
Gruber, speaking to ABC7 this week, insisted that as his landlords, the couple had ‘a duty and obligation to protect my property.’
Jones countered that he followed his attorney’s advice by sending Gruber an eviction notice and letter warning him that he would dispose of his property if it was not collected.
‘I waited six months for him to show up and he never showed up,’ he said, adding that he then donated Gruber’s belongings to the Mormon Church.
Gruber claims that these possessions included an array of luxury items including two Prada suits worth $10,000, a Rolex watch, and a custom Calvin Klein desk worth upwards of $10,000.
Upon hearing these items were donated, Gruber launched a lawsuit against Jones for $182,000 to cover the value of the items, and a further $233,000 in damages.
When Gruber could not produce receipts for the lavish purchases, a judge rejected his claims – but still ruled in Gruber’s favor and held Jones responsible for $8,683.
Now facing the legal bill, Jones said he is broke and unable to pay it, and said the stress of his clash with Gruber has compounded his Parkinson’s Disease symptoms.
‘I’m very emotional because it affects me so bad and still having to fight and have the memories come back of what I went through,’ Jones said through tears.
Gruber admitted he is sorry for his role in the sad conclusion to the saga, saying: ‘From the heart, I do apologize… I mean, it shouldn’t end that way, or it shouldn’t have ever happened.’
He said he has been clean and sober for over three years, and added that he now plans on writing a tell-all book about his time in Klein’s inner circle.