Speaking Out: Presley Gerber’s Public Struggle with Mental Health

Presley Gerber was a model and the eldest child of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber. He was twenty-seven years old when he died at a rehabilitation facility in September 2026, and an autopsy was completed while investigators continued tests to determine the cause of death. Local police were investigating the case as a suspected overdose and were also attempting to trace the source of any drugs involved.

For several years Gerber had been candid about his battles with depression, anxiety and substance use, and he regularly shared videos on social media as part of a Mental Health Mondays series. In those posts he discussed a range of substances that he had used, including ketamine and kratom, and he described travelling to Mexico to undergo psychedelic-assisted treatment where he planned to take ibogaine. Ibogaine is banned in the United States and has been linked to potentially serious heart risks, which has complicated public discussion of experimental therapies.

His sister Kaia spoke to Vogue about what the magazine described as a decade-long struggle with drug addiction, and the family publicly asked for privacy. While many followers left messages of support on his social feeds, media coverage and health experts have used his public reflections to explore safer care and the limits of online disclosure.

If his openness encourages better conversations and more accessible, evidence-based care, it may help others; however, the risks of self-guided treatment and unregulated substances remain a pressing concern that health providers and families must address together. More work is needed.