One month before Presley’s pᴀssing, Kaia praised her sibling’s vulnerability in sharing his struggles publicly.
“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,’” she told Vogue in August 2026. “There’s only so much you can hide from the world.”
Below, Page Six is breaking down Presley’s ups and downs over the years.
DUI arrest
16 Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber’s son’s public ups and downs began with a 2018 arrest.Presley Gerber / Instagram
16 He pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor DUI charge — and was spotted at a drug-testing facility in 2020.RMBI / BACKGRID
In December 2018, Presley was arrested for DUI in California after failing a field sobriety test.
Presley, who was 19 years old at the time, pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge.
He was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to complete a DUI program and two days of community service.
In February 2020, Presley was spotted at a drug-testing facility — shortly after debuting his “misunderstood” face tattoo.
Depression struggles
16 Presley spoke candidly about his depression struggles in 2023.MediaPunch / BACKGRID
16 He said he was in therapy “a lot” and didn’t want people to repeat his “mistakes.”Presley Gerber / Instagram
While Presley did not speak publicly about his addiction until 2024, he did share rare insight into his struggles with “mental health, depression and some other things that come along with that” the previous year.
“What I hope I can do is have made the mistakes for other people, so they don’t have to make the same mistakes that I made,” he shared with “Studio 22” podcast listeners in March 2023.
“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,” he continued, noting that he was in therapy “a lot.”
Opioid addiction
16 Presley (pictured above in March 2019) went public with his opioid addiction in 2024.Best Image / BACKGRID
16 He said this had been “on and off for years.” (Pictured above: Presley on Jan. 20.)Getty Images for 11:11 Media
Presley opened up via Instagram Stories in 2024, per The List, about “dealing with [a] current, very high opioid addiction.”
He told his followers he had “been on and off them for years now” and was preparing to undergo treatment.
“I’m letting everyone know so there’s some accountability in this situation,” Presley said without elaborating further.
Mental Health Mondays
16 Presley started filming “Mental Health Mondays” in 2024.Presley Gerber / Instagram
16 He shared the weekly updates with his Instagram followers.Presley Gerber / Instagram
Later that same year, Presley began filming weekly Instagram videos as part of a “Mental Health Mondays” series.
The social media uploads focused on a specific topic each time, from battling shame to dealing with triggers.
He also spoke in detail about his experiences with a variety of medications, including Prozac, Adderall, Valium, Ambien and more.
Panic attack prescriptions
16 He broke down the cocktail of drugs he was prescribed in December 2025.Presley Gerber / Instagram
16 Presley (pictured above on Aug. 6, 2026) said “honesty is the best policy.”Presley Gerber / Instagram
In a lengthy (and since-deleted) December 2025 Instagram video, Presley announced he was five months sober from alcohol — and gave an extensive breakdown of the medication he was taking since “honesty is the best policy” to make others feel “less alone.”
The list included prescriptions for “night terrors,” as well as Xanax for “really, really bad panic attacks,” Buprenorphine, ketamine and more.
“Every psychiatrist I’ve had — and I’ve had, like, 15 — they’re all like, ‘Here’s 20 medications. Take this if you feel like this, take this as needed.’ And I’m like, ‘No, don’t give me that much leeway. I need some direction,’” he noted.
Presley, who was trying to “surround [him]self with good” influences, said, “I’ve had a lot of loss in many different forms recently. That is not an excuse, but it’s the reason — or part of — why I am where I’m at now.”
He explained that this was why he took a “fluctuating” amount of benzos.
Wellness clinic
16 In March, Presley gave a glimpse of the wellness clinic he attended in Mexico.Presley Gerber / Instagram
16 His “proud” family (pictured above on May 20) shared their support at the time in Instagram comments.WWD via Getty Images
Presley reflected on his time at a wellness clinic in Cancún, Mexico, in March 2026, where he took ibogaine, a psychoactive found in the root bark of the West African shrub Tabernanthe iboga.
“I faced what I had been running from, and somewhere in all of it, I started finding my way back to myself,” he wrote via Instagram at the time.
“We shall see. Praying it’s the last time I have to come back. Next time I’d like to choose
Presley’s family members gushed over how “proud” they were of him in the comments section.
Death
16 Presley (pictured above in September 2018) died on Sept. 20, 2026.Getty Images
16 In a statement, his loved ones requested “privacy during this very difficult and painful time.”MediaPunch / BACKGRID
