Presley Gerber Death Rumors Debunked: What We Know

Presley Gerber often returned to one guiding principle: “Recovery is about progression, not perfection.”

For a time, it appeared that he was making genuine strides toward recovery.

The only child of supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber spoke openly with followers in social media videos earlier this year. Reflecting on his wellbeing after years of drug addiction, he said he had “started finding my way back to myself.”

It seemed the 27-year-old might finally be turning a corner.

But the struggles that had followed him for years reportedly returned. In the three months before his sudden death on Sunday, Presley was said to have gradually lost control as his condition deteriorated, Our News Outlet has learned.

A source close to his mother, Crawford, 60, described the former Calvin Klein model as “really thin” and “gaunt.” The source also said Presley no longer sounded like himself and at times struggled to communicate clearly.

His final month was reportedly especially difficult. Presley entered a rehabilitation facility in Santa Monica, California, on Saturday, but died just hours later in what is suspected to have been an overdose.

“Presley was getting high before he entered rehab. That’s why he went—he could not break the habit,” the source said.

“He looked terrible before checking in. He was extremely thin and pale, with a gaunt face, and had been depressed in the weeks leading up to his death. He was also jittery and sometimes struggled to make sense.”

“He looked as though he was on meth and had that meth look, but nobody knew for certain what he was taking. How could they? People battling addiction do not usually tell the full truth.”

“He was a long way from the cover model he had once been.”

Presley had previously acknowledged using a range of drugs, including Xanax, Valium, oxycodone and ketamine.

“He had gone to rehab many times and hated it,” the source said. “He was very outspoken about believing rehab did not work. On his show, he even claimed rehabilitation had a 98 percent failure rate, so he was never a supporter.”

According to the source, Crawford and Rande, 64, had become increasingly desperate to secure help for their son.

“Both of his parents made him go to rehab because they knew he was using,” the source said.

“They refused to give up on him and tried another rehabilitation center because they still had so much hope. He was constantly in and out of rehab, and they spent a fortune trying to help him get his life back on track.”

The continued: ‘They are helicopter parents, they are super involved, they did not drop the ball here. They pushed and pushed for him to get better. No one can blame them. They did their research and felt they were doing the right thing.’

Though Crawford did not openly discuss Presley’s addiction battles, she frequently posted messages of encouragement on his Instagram videos, including calling him a ‘warrior’ back in March after he went public with the experimental ibogaine flood dose treatment he had undergone in Mexico to combat his substance abuse.

But as he started to deteriorate this summer, it became apparent that what his parents had so viscerally feared could potentially become reality.

‘Their worst fear was that he would get a bad cocktail of drugs and die,’ said the source.

‘They worried about fentanyl and had many discussions about it. This absolutely was an issue for them, and they were fighting to keep him alive.’

According to the County of Los Angeles Public Health, 70 percent of overdoses are caused by fentanyl. Presley’s cause of death has yet to be confirmed.

‘Everyone wants to know how he died in rehab, a place that was supposed to save him,’ our source said. ‘Presley may have snuck drugs in, no one knows at this point.’

An insider close to the family told Our News Outlet earlier this week that they felt an untimely death had been ‘inevitable.’

But questions will no doubt stilll be asked of the Resolutions Living facility – the $7.7 million luxurious rehabilitation home in Santa Monica where Presley had checked in before his death.

His difficult past goes back over a decade to when he was a young teenager trying to fight depression and anxiety. He talked openly about how he struggled with the quick transition from a sporty high school student with a structured existence to a jet setting model.

‘He was very open about trying every medication out there to help him,’ our source said. ‘Nothing worked.’

‘He had been on drugs on and off for years’ and was ‘often high,’ the source added.

‘He liked being high, he said it made him feel “normal.” His problem was much worse than he made it seem, he was in a bad way, but you can’t judge the guy, he was hurting.

‘The poor guy had so much anxiety and pain, he could not stop self-medicating, and he took a lot of different stuff.’

The source also suggested there were bad influences in his life.

‘He had bad friends that did drugs too,’ they claimed. ‘How else do you think he got his hands on the drugs?’

The source insisted that these ‘bad friends’ were not associated with his circle of celebrity pals which was made up of fellow nepo babies such as Brooklyn Beckham, Sofia Richie, Brandon Thomas Lee and Paris Hilton.

‘He had LA friends who were kind of strange, but who doesn’t?’ said the source. ‘You live in Hollywood Hills, you are going to get to know some weirdos.’

An autopsy on Presley has already been completed, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed, though his official cause of death has been deferred pending further testing. It could take months for toxicology and additional tests to confirm the truth.

The Santa Monica Police Department is investigating the death as a suspected overdose, noting there is no indication of foul play.

Our News Outlet has contacted a representative for Crawford and Resolutions Living for comment.