Supermodel Cindy Crawford and her entrepreneur husband Rande Gerber have broken their silence after the sudden death of their son, Presley Gerber.
The 27-year-old was found dead at a rehabilitation facility in Los Angeles on the morning of September 20, which police are investigating as a suspected drug overdose.
His sudden death followed a years-long battle with addiction and mental health issues.
Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today
When news broke of Presley’s death on September 20, his family asked for “privacy during this very difficult and painful time”.
But almost a month later, Crawford and Gerber, along with their daughter and Presley’s younger sister Kaia, have paid tribute to him in heart-rending social media posts.
“We are beyond heartbroken to lose our beloved son and brother,” Crawford and Gerber said.
“We feel so blessed to have had Presley in our lives for 27 years. He is a sweet, beautiful soul who loved and is loved, now and forever.
“We are so proud of how he showed up in the world, with kindness and vulnerability.
“We are grateful for the outpouring of love and support from so many who know and love our family and even strangers who feel our pain.
“Til we meet again our sweet boy. We love you forever, Mom, Dad and Kaia.”
Kaia followed with a lengthy post of her own hours later, saying no amount of words are a “match against this, the magnitude of losing you”.
“I am, quite literally, down on my f***ing knees, you know how much I loved being your sister.
“I had more love for you than I knew what to do with and now that it has nowhere obvious to go, I’m certain it’s going to swallow me whole.”
Kaia remembered Presley as an “inherently good” person who helped her confront difficult situations by being the brave older brother and “going first”.
“I keep thinking about how when we were little, I got scared before getting my ears pierced, so you went first. You always went first,” Kaia said.
“But when I held the earring they took from your body, all I could think was: ‘That belongs to you’.
“I really f***ing wish you hadn’t gone first this time.”
She added that Presley’s impact on her life was so important that “even knowing where it ends, I would choose it all over again”.
“My best buddy, my great protector, the hardest I’ve ever laughed and the one true love of my life — you lit all of my candles and took all of my monsters away,” Kaia said.
Famous friends of the family showed their support, while also honouring Presley.
“Kaia I have no words,” Amelia Gray said, adding: “Pres, I’ll love you forever. I feel you closer now than ever. Your legacy will live on.
“You will save so many lives and help so many. To the most beautiful soul to ever exist … We’ll see you soon sweet angel Pres.”
Long-time friend of Cindy Crawford and Days Of Our Lives actor Lisa Rinna said: “We love you, we love Presley, we love your family”.
Presley’s troubled history
Presley had previously described his battle to overcome his mental health issues as a “24/7 job” but wanted to be an example for others facing similar issues.
“Having struggled with mental health, depression and some other things that come along with that,” he told the Studio 22 podcast in 2023. “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.
“That’s really what I want to do, help people.”
That approach led to him sharing “Mental Health Mondays” videos to Instagram, in which he talked about being in recovery circles and trying to return to healthy habits.
He said he was incredibly proud of how much he’d been able to help others with the series.
“When I started Mental Health Mondays, the goal was to spark real conversations about the stuff most people hide,” he said in a post in November.
“It’s been incredible seeing how far that message has spread and how many people it’s helped.”
One of his last posts to Instagram featured him at a Los Angeles rehabilitation facility undergoing psychedelic drug treatment in March.
“[A] quiet moment before everything changed,” he captioned the post.
“I was absolutely terrified, and I knew I would be again if I ever had to face something like this.
“Praying it’s the last time I have to come back.”
