Presley — born in Beverly Hills, Calif., in 1999 — was open about his struggles with mental health and substance abuse before his death.
“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 said on the Studio 22 podcast in 2023.
“[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,” Presley continued. “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.”
He added, “I’ve seen a lot of stuff and I’ve learned a lot of things. What I hope I can do is have made the mistakes for some other people, so they don’t have to make the same mistakes that I made.”
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In the September 2026 issue of Vogue, Kaia reflected on what the outlet called Presley’s “decade-long struggle with drug addiction.”
“When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone,” Kaia said. “I think that’s also why I started to self-identify as the easy one and never wanted to ask for help. Because it felt like too much to have two children who were needing.”
She added that seeing her sibling be so open about his life was refreshing. “My parents for most of our lives were very, very private and didn’t share anything — and now we have this absolute teacher, my brother, who says, ‘I’m gonna be very human for everyone.’ There’s only so much you can hide from the world,” Kaia said. “And trying to put a lid on something just makes the person feel like you’re ashamed of them.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, please contact the SAMHSA helpline at 1-800-662-HELP.

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