'Til We Meet Again, Our Sweet Boy': Cindy Crawford's Family Breaks Its Silence on Presley Gerber
Cindy Crawford, Rande Gerber and Kaia Gerber spoke publicly for the first time about Presley Gerber, who died Sept. 20 at 27 in Santa Monica.
Nearly a month after Presley Gerber died at 27, his family spoke publicly for the first time on Sunday. "Til we meet again our sweet boy," wrote his mother, supermodel Cindy Crawford, his father, businessman Rande Gerber, and his sister, model and actress Kaia Gerber.
The facts come first below. My reflection follows in the section marked as opinion.
What the family said
"We are beyond heartbroken to lose our beloved son and brother. 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," the family wrote in a statement shared on social media, CBS Los Angeles reported. "We are so proud of how he showed up in the world, with kindness and vulnerability." They thanked "even strangers who feel our pain" and signed it, "We love you forever, Mom, Dad and Kaia."
Kaia Gerber posted her own tribute. "I was born loving you. I will die loving you. There was never anything else," she wrote, according to CBS. "I am learning how to love you when I cannot see you." She also wrote that being his sister "has always been, and will forever be, my favorite thing about myself," Deadline reported.
What officials have said
Santa Monica police officers responded to a report of a possible overdose on the morning of Sept. 20 and found a man dead, the department said in a statement. Detectives are investigating it as a suspected overdose, and police said there is no indication of foul play.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner deferred the cause and manner of death pending more testing, a process that can take a few months, the office said in its own statement. CBS and Deadline reported that he died at a rehab facility in Santa Monica.
Gerber had spoken openly on social media about his struggles with addiction and mental health, CBS reported. He was arrested and charged with DUI in 2019, according to Deadline.
Opinion: Grief that does not hide
Famous families often get the worst of both worlds in a moment like this. They grieve in public whether they want to or not, and strangers feel free to judge. This family waited four weeks, then said something simple and true: they loved him, they were proud of him, and they want to see him again.
No one outside that family should pretend to know what Presley Gerber's last days were like, and the official cause of death has not been released. But his own openness about addiction is a reminder that this disease does not care how famous your mother is or how much money your family has. It reaches into homes on every street in America.
Christians do not grieve "even as others which have no hope" (1 Thessalonians 4:13). That does not mean we do not grieve. Jesus wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus (John 11:35), even knowing what he was about to do. And Scripture promises a day when God "shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying" (Revelation 21:4). Miley Cyrus spoke of that same longing last week, when she sang "Jolene" for her late godmother, Dolly Parton, and said, "I'm gonna see her again."
Kaia Gerber's line, "learning how to love you when I cannot see you," will stay with many readers who have lost a brother, sister or child. Pray for this family. And if you or someone you love is fighting addiction, do not wait. SAMHSA's free, confidential National Helpline is open 24 hours a day at 1-800-662-4357, according to the agency.
