Six months before his death at 27, Presley Gerber’s addiction battle brought him to a wellness clinic in Cancún, Mexico, where he said he finally confronted what he had spent years avoiding. The model shared footage from the clinic in March, documenting a ritual and prayer before receiving ibogaine treatment.
Gerber was staying at an undisclosed rehabilitation facility when his death was announced on Sunday. An autopsy has not yet been completed, leaving the cause of death undetermined.
What did Presley Gerber say about his treatment?
In his March post, Gerber described the calm before an ibogaine session as a “quiet moment before everything changed.” He admitted he was “absolutely terrified” and said surrendering control had not come naturally.
“Letting go of control didn’t come easy, but I trusted there was something bigger than me guiding it,” he wrote. “I knew why I was there.”
He said the experience forced him to address the problems he had avoided.
“I faced what I had been running from, and somewhere in all of it, I started finding my way back to myself,” Gerber wrote.
His hope was that he would not need to return under the same circumstances. “Praying it’s the last time I have to come back,” he added. “Next time I’d like to choose.”
Gerber also thanked the clinic’s team, describing its members as “incredible, caring [and] kind.” The post was candid rather than polished, which was probably the point. Recovery rarely arrives with tidy punctuation or a convenient final chapter.
How did his family respond?
Gerber was the only son of supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber. His younger sister, model and actor Kaia Gerber, told him she was “so damn proud” and called him a “warrior.”
Crawford wrote that her son had “walked thru the fire” to find himself, adding: “So proud!” He replied, “Love you mama.”
Rande Gerber praised his son’s courage and the effort required to confront his addiction.
“Facing what’s hard takes real strength and watching you find your way back to yourself is everything,” he wrote. “I love you so much.”
The messages reflected a family publicly celebrating progress while privately dealing with a long and serious illness. Presley had struggled with addiction for roughly a decade.
Why was Gerber using ibogaine?
Gerber underwent treatment involving ibogaine, a psychoactive substance found in the root bark of the West African shrub Tabernanthe iboga. It has been used in attempts to treat opioid addiction.
Research from Stanford has also examined ibogaine as a possible treatment for traumatic brain injuries among military veterans. Discussing a 2025 study, Nolan Williams, an associate professor of psychiatry, said: “No other drug has ever been able to alleviate the functional and neuropsychiatric symptoms of traumatic brain injury.”
Gerber had entered modeling years earlier, making his runway debut at 16 for Italian fashion house Moschino. Away from that career, however, he later disclosed a prolonged dependence on opioids and prescription medication.
What had he revealed about his addiction?
In 2024, Gerber said he had experienced a severe, multi-year opioid addiction. He also revealed that a near-fatal fentanyl overdose had left him in a coma for several days.
That year, he discussed becoming dependent on prescription drugs after consulting more than 15 psychiatrists. He alleged that he had been heavily medicated without receiving a structured plan for recovery.
In a since-deleted video posted last December, Gerber said he had used prescription medications including antidepressants and Xanax to manage panic attacks. He also connected his condition to a period of repeated personal loss, while making clear that he did not consider that an excuse.
“Unfortunately, I’ve had a lot of loss in many different forms recently,” he said. “So that is not an excuse, but it’s the reason why I am where I’m at now.”
Just one month before his death, Kaia Gerber spoke to Vogue about the effect of addiction on their family. “When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone,” she said.
