Calvin Klein sent his troubled paramour Nick Gruber to rehab by private jet this week.
Sources tell us that Gruber knew he was headed to rehab — arranged and paid for by his older, multimillionaire on/off boyfriend — before he was arrested for assault and cocaine possession Tuesday morning.
Friends of 22-year-old Gruber say the 69-year-old fashion designer had arranged for Gruber to be flown to The Meadows in Arizona — so he went on a big “last night out.”
Gruber was put on Klein’s G4 plane Wednesday afternoon. “There was a fear that if Nick flew commercial, he might go to the bar first. He had to be delivered there,” said a source.
Klein is also paying the $35,000 monthly tab at The Meadows for Gruber’s treatment. The facility is where a now sober Klein sought treatment for his drug problems in 2003, after his notorious meltdown at MSG in the middle of a Knicks game.
Gruber and Klein had dated since 2010. While friends claim they broke up months ago, other sources say they have recently been spending a lot of time together.
Klein had previously shelled out thousands for surgery on Gruber’s finger after he broke it while skiing, and paid two years’ advance rent for his West Village apartment. Gruber also struggled with bulimia, but was helped through treatment and with advice from Klein’s personal chef.
Sources say Gruber decided to go “out big” the night before he was arrested. He dined at Da Silvano and later headed to Meatpacking restaurant Catch, but he wasn’t let in.
Gruber was arrested Tuesday morning at about 4:30 a.m. after he punched pal Calvin Swint at Gruber’s Greenwich Street penthouse. The ex-porn star was later charged with possessing a stimulant and two misdemeanors — resisting arrest and assault with intent to cause physical injury. Klein’s rep could not be reached and Gruber’s power lawyer, Ben Brafman, declined to comment.