Presley Gerber never wanted his pain kept behind closed doors. On an appearance on the "Studio 22 podcast" in 2023, he summed up his purpose in a single sentence: "I think that whether I help one person or a hundred people get out of that place that I was in at one point in my life, that's all I need to do."
© Getty Images for BalmainThose words land differently now. Gerber, the only son of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber and the older brother of Kaia Gerber, died Sunday. He was 27 years old. According to Los Angeles County Medical Examiner records, he died at a rehabilitation facility. No cause of death has been made public, and an autopsy had not been completed at the time of reporting.
A family representative said in a statement: "The family is asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time."
From the outside, his life looked great. Gerber was born into one of Hollywood's best-known families and followed his mother into modeling, signing with IMG Models when he was 15 years old. He later walked the runway for brands like Moschino and Calvin Klein. Recently, what he chose to show the world, though, was his personal struggle with addiction.
For years, he spoke publicly about his battles with mental health and addiction, and he tried to turn that experience into something useful for those who were going through similar experiences.
The mission behind Mental Health Mondays
Gerber never described mental health as something he could complete. "It's a 24/7 job, and there's so much to it," he said on Studio 22.
That belief became one of his most personal projects, Mental Health Mondays, a series of Instagram videos in which he talked through his struggles, his progress and his setbacks. He explained the point of it in a post last November: "When I started Mental Health Mondays, the goal was to spark real conversations about the stuff most people hide."
That same month, he told followers he'd stepped away from social media to look after his own mental health. He promised to return "stronger, clearer, more intentional than ever."
A very public request for help
© WWD via Getty ImagesWhat made Gerber's openness so striking was that he never posed as someone who had it all figured out. In a since-deleted Instagram video posted in December 2025, filmed in a sauna, he ran through the medications he was taking, including buprenorphine, Xanax, and Valium. He said he'd been through 15 psychiatrists and was still looking for clearer direction.
He was frank about how unsettled things felt. "The benzos have been fluctuating up and down depending on what's been going on in my life," he said. He tied that to a run of recent losses: "Unfortunately, I've had a lot of loss in many different forms recently, so that is not an excuse, but it's the reason why I am where I'm at now." On the fear of depending on his medications, he said: "The things that scare me are the things you need to take … if you don't take them, something not good happens."
"I'm hoping this reaches people in many ways so you feel like you're not alone, because that is how I feel most of the time," Gerber said. "Hopefully I find some people out here that are willing to help and/or are people that know someone that can help."
His mother, Cindy Crawford, dropped some encouraging words in the comments: "Presley — we love you and you are not alone."
Getting back to the water
© FilmMagicGerber also talked about trying to rebuild the habits that once made him happy. In a July 2025 video, he described an active childhood spent playing team sports before discovering surfing, water polo and swimming. By his own account, on some days he spent hours in the water. He said that as modeling work and travel took over, that way of life faded, and he tied the decline in his well-being to being away from exercise and the ocean.
He said he'd returned to both, had stopped drinking, and was trying to keep distance from certain people and environments, even ones he cared about.
A leap of faith
His most recent attempt to break free of addiction came in March, when he shared photos taken before an ibogaine treatment. Ibogaine is a psychedelic that has been studied as a possible aid for addiction. He didn't hide his fear. "I was absolutely terrified," he wrote. He also described what he found on the other side: "I faced what I had been running from, and somewhere in all of it, I started finding my way back to myself." He added that he was praying it would be "the last time I have to come back."
His family rallied around him. "You are a warrior! Walked thru the fire to find yourself! So proud!" wrote Crawford.
Kaia added: "That's my brother I am so damn proud."
© @presleygerberKaia's words, weeks before
Only weeks before her brother's death, Kaia Gerber spoke to Vogue for its September issue about how his decade-long struggle with addiction had rippled through the family. "When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone," she said.
She praised his decision to be so open, saying her parents had been private for most of their lives, "and now we have this absolute teacher, my brother, who says, 'I'm gonna be very human for everyone.'"
He stayed that way to the end, talking about his depression, his addiction, his fears, and his attempts to get better.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction or mental health, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or call SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
© WWD via Getty Images
