In an interview published before the death of her older brother, Presley Gerber, Kaia Gerber spoke with striking honesty about the way his long struggle with drug addiction had shaped not only him, but their entire family.
Presley, the eldest child of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, died on September 20, 2026, at age 27. His cause of death has not been released. In light of the news, Kaia’s earlier words about her brother — and the pride she felt as he became increasingly open about his struggles — are especially poignant.
Speaking to Vogue in an interview published on August 11th, Kaia reflected on how living alongside Presley’s decade-long battle with addiction affected the role she assumed within their family.
“When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone,” she 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.”
Kaia Gerber Said She Was ‘Deeply Proud’ of Her Brother
But Kaia did not speak about Presley simply through the lens of his addiction. She also described the admiration she felt for the way he had begun talking publicly about what he had experienced.
Presley had opened up about his struggles in an Instagram video the previous December, breaking with the privacy that had long surrounded the Crawford-Gerber family.
“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,’” Kaia told Vogue.
Her description of Presley as a “teacher” feels particularly powerful now. Rather than suggesting his struggles were something the family needed to conceal, Kaia spoke about the importance of allowing him to be honest about them.
“There’s only so much you can hide from the world,” she said. “And trying to put a lid on something just makes the person feel like you’re ashamed of them.”
Her Words Carry New Weight After Presley’s Death
Those comments now offer a deeply personal glimpse into the relationship between the siblings — one defined not only by difficult years, but by Kaia’s evident respect for her brother’s decision to speak openly about his life.
Following Presley’s death, the Crawford-Gerber family issued a statement asking for privacy during what they described as a “very difficult and painful time.”
With his cause of death not yet publicly determined, it would be wrong to draw a connection between Presley’s history of addiction and how he died. What Kaia’s interview does reveal, however, is how she wanted her brother to be seen while he was alive: not as someone whose struggles should be hidden, but as someone whose willingness to be vulnerable could help others feel less alone.