What to Know About Presley Gerber, Cindy Crawford’s Model Son

“Recovery is about progression, not perfection” was a mantra Presley Gerber often returned to.

For a time, it appeared that he was genuinely moving forward.

The only son of supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber spoke openly and thoughtfully about his wellbeing in social media videos earlier this year. He told fans he had “started finding my way back to myself” after years of drug addiction.

It seemed the tide had finally begun to turn for Presley.

But, tragically, his long-running struggles returned. The 27-year-old reportedly began losing his footing over the past three months, spiraling further before his sudden death on Sunday, the Daily Mail has learned.

The former Calvin Klein model was described as “really thin” and “gaunt” and was said not to sound like himself, according to a source close to his mother, Crawford, 60. The source also claimed that Presley sometimes struggled to make complete sense.

His condition was reportedly at its worst during the final month of his life. Presley checked into a rehabilitation center in Santa Monica, California on Saturday, but died just hours later in what was suspected to be an overdose.

“Presley was getting high before he went to rehab. That’s why he went, because he could not kick the habit,” our source said.

“He looked terrible before checking in. He was extremely thin and pale, with a gaunt face, and appeared depressed in the weeks before his death. He was also jittery and, at times, did not make sense.

“He looked as though he was on meth—he had that meth look—but no one knew for certain what he was taking. How could anyone know? People struggling with drug addiction do not usually tell the full truth.

“He was a long way from the cover boy he had once been.”

Presley had previously acknowledged using a range of drugs, including Xanax, Valium, oxycodone and ketamine.

“He had been to rehab many times and disliked it,” our source said. “He was very vocal about believing rehab did not work. He even said on his show that rehab had a 98 percent failure rate, so he was not a fan.”

According to the source, both Crawford and his father, Rande, 64, were desperate to see their son receive help.

“Both of his parents made him go to rehab because they knew he was using,” the source said.

“They were never going to give up on him, so they tried another rehab center. They had so much hope. He was in and out of rehab constantly, and they spent a fortune trying to get him to turn his life around.”

The continued: ‘They are helicopter parents, they are super involved, they did not drop the ball here. They pushed and pushed for him to get better. No one can blame them. They did their research and felt they were doing the right thing.’

Though Crawford did not openly discuss Presley’s addiction battles, she frequently posted messages of encouragement on his Instagram videos, including calling him a ‘warrior’ back in March after he went public with the experimental ibogaine flood dose treatment he had undergone in Mexico to combat his substance abuse.

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But as he started to deteriorate this summer, it became apparent that what his parents had so viscerally feared could potentially become reality.

‘Their worst fear was that he would get a bad cocktail of drugs and die,’ said the source.

‘They worried about fentanyl and had many discussions about it. This absolutely was an issue for them, and they were fighting to keep him alive.’

According to the County of Los Angeles Public Health, 70 percent of overdoses are caused by fentanyl. Presley’s cause of death has yet to be confirmed.

‘Everyone wants to know how he died in rehab, a place that was supposed to save him,’ our source said. ‘Presley may have snuck drugs in, no one knows at this point.’

An insider close to the family told the Daily Mail earlier this week that they felt an untimely death had been ‘inevitable.’

But questions will no doubt stilll be asked of the Resolutions Living facility – the $7.7 million luxurious rehabilitation home in Santa Monica where Presley had checked in before his death.

His difficult past goes back over a decade to when he was a young teenager trying to fight depression and anxiety. He talked openly about how he struggled with the quick transition from a sporty high school student with a structured existence to a jet setting model.

‘He was very open about trying every medication out there to help him,’ our source said. ‘Nothing worked.’

‘He had been on drugs on and off for years’ and was ‘often high,’ the source added.

‘He liked being high, he said it made him feel “normal.” His problem was much worse than he made it seem, he was in a bad way, but you can’t judge the guy, he was hurting.

‘The poor guy had so much anxiety and pain, he could not stop self-medicating, and he took a lot of different stuff.’

The source also suggested there were bad influences in his life.

‘He had bad friends that did drugs too,’ they claimed. ‘How else do you think he got his hands on the drugs?’

The source insisted that these ‘bad friends’ were not associated with his circle of celebrity pals which was made up of fellow nepo babies such as Brooklyn Beckham, Sofia Richie, Brandon Thomas Lee and Paris Hilton.

‘He had LA friends who were kind of strange, but who doesn’t?’ said the source. ‘You live in Hollywood Hills, you are going to get to know some weirdos.’

An autopsy on Presley has already been completed, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed, though his official cause of death has been deferred pending further testing. It could take months for toxicology and additional tests to confirm the truth.

The Santa Monica Police Department is investigating the death as a suspected overdose, noting there is no indication of foul play.

The Daily Mail has contacted a representative for Crawford and Resolutions Living for comment.