Who is Presley Gerber? Cindy Crawford’s son opens up about mental health struggles

Presley Gerber arrived on July 2, 1999, the first child of the powerful pairing of supermodel Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber. Modeling practically became a birthright for Crawford's kids. Presley and his sister, Kaia, eventually followed the modelling path, with Presley Gerber walking for elite brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, Dolce & Gabbana, and Moschino. However, the gilded life came with intense public pressure.

Cindy Crawford, speaking to Time in 2015, acknowledged the goal of raising open-minded children. She shared:

“In my kids, I see acceptance. Kids are not born seeing otherness. They’re born open... The rest gets trained into us by watching the news, our own parents and how people react. And all of that is rooted in insecurity. As a parent, I try to lead by example and instill in my children self-confidence while showing my own vulnerability.”

Despite that secure foundation, Presley Gerber struggled privately with his mental health. He became known for his expressive body art: barbed wire on his hand, a gun on his hip bone, and the notorious “MISUNDERSTOOD” on his face, a piece he later removed. In a candid turn, he began documenting his journey, initiating the "Mental Health Mondays" series on Instagram, as reported by People in September 2025. This openness about his struggles generated multiple headlines.

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Presley Gerber details his daily medication routine:

In a striking moment of public vulnerability, Presley Gerber took to Instagram to lay bare the complex reality of his mental health regimen. From inside a sauna, the model shared an unfiltered video that quickly became a powerful, if alarming, exercise in transparency. He captioned the post with a mixture of hope and cynicism:

“Here’s some clarity for ya — the truth will set you free (hopefully) haha.”

Presley Gerber was not merely touching upon his struggles; he was detailing them, drug by drug. He began by affirming his motive, noting that he felt “honesty is the best policy.” He then revealed he was currently taking one milligram of Buprenorphine, a regimen he followed twice daily. The use of benzodiazepines, he explained, was less consistent and more reactive.

“The benzos have been fluctuating up and down depending on what’s been going on in my life,” he shared.

He was taking a small dose of Xanax, typically only at night or when his “panic attacks are really, really bad.” He stressed the effort involved, saying he tried “to take as little of that as possible.” Valium, too, varied in dosage. The cause of his current struggle was rooted in recent grief. While he insisted the circumstances were “not an excuse,” Presley Gerber attributed his current state to the fact that “unfortunately, he’s had a lot of loss in many different forms recently,” which he explained was

“the reason why I am where I’m at now.”

Perhaps the most visceral part of the confession was his frustration with the lack of clear direction. He voiced a terrifying uncertainty about his dosage, admitting,

“I don’t know if it’s a little bit or a lot, who f***ing knows anymore”

The anxiety was amplified by medical professionals themselves, as doctors

“say a lot of different things so it’s kind of scary.”

Kaia Gerber’s older brother closed the powerful clip with a plea for stability:

“Hopefully between my research and their research and the world and God, we can finally figure this out.”

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Presley Gerber's hope to turn personal struggles into public platform for mental health awareness:

The public saw a raw side of Presley Gerber when he joined the Studio 22 podcast, detailing his ambition to transform his own mental health battles into a platform for good. The conversation, highlighted in a March 2, 2023, report from People, centered on his determination to leverage his recovery to benefit others.

Presley Gerber, who has dealt with depression, made it clear that his goal transcended simple awareness. He told the hosts Brock O'Hurn and Will Meldman that his focus was personal impact:

"Having struggled with mental health, depression and some other things that come along with that, 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."

He noted his belief that mental health urgently needed more public discussion. To achieve this, he was considering a highly visible initiative: a mental health-inspired clothing line. This, along with his broader hopes for increased awareness, marked a definitive community goal for the model. Presley Gerber stressed that the fight against depression and related issues was constant, calling the process a demanding, perpetual effort.

"[Mental health] is an issue. It is such a big part of my life. It's a 24/7 job, and there's so much to it," he shared.

His mission, he explained, was to offer support without precondition:

"That's really what I want to do: help people, whether you're depressed, you're struggling with something that is having a negative effect on your body. I mean it could be anything, and there's no judgment."