When Cindy Crawford Stepped Out of the Spotlight to Be a Mom
A celebrity like Cindy Crawford could certainly afford multiple photographers—not only is her image used quite a bit, but she is also a woman who played a decisive role in supermodels. Whether she was on the catwalk or the cover of Vogue, it always looked very easy for her to take over all attention.
There was, in a way, something very beautiful about the advertising campaign that she did last spring along with her husband Rande Gerber and kids Kaia and Presley. It was the promotion of a sports apparel brand in the US, and the happy, sun-kissed “family of dreams” was laughing and romping on the beach together.
It was strange to see Cindy Crawford not as a supermodel but as a proud mother, elegantly supporting her greatest achievements—her children.
A short clip that went viral shows Cindy Crawford hugging her daughter Kaia, a model with the same looks, under the shimmering sea and blue sky of the Pacific.
Like Mother, Like Daughter: Cindy Crawford Faces the Grief Her Own Mother Knew
It equally shows her relaxing her head on that of her eldest boy, Presley, who shares her strong features as the chiselled firstborn. But the clip capturing one of the warm and tightly bonded family scenes that are not afraid to show their love for each other now serves as the source of a deeply painful memory of a wonderful and rich life that was suddenly taken away.
Presley Gerber, 27, was the only son of Cindy Crawford, who took up her modelling career; even though he had recently been openly talking about his problems with mental health and the drugs he was using, he died yesterday in Los Angeles. He had only been admitted to a detox facility a while back. The reason for his death is still being figured out, but it is mostly thought that he overdosed on drugs.
How much the mother, the father, and his sisters, 25, the one whose name appeared tattooed on the left arm of Presley, are in pain.
To Cindy, whose landmark 60th birthday is this year, the death of a son is as painful as that of her mother, Jennifer, who died 50 years prior. As she grew up in the U.S. state of Illinois, Cindy Crawford, who was the second youngest daughter of the three sisters, still remembers being ten when her little brother Jeffrey passed from leukemia; he was four and had been ill for two years.
According to a relative, who also spoke on record to the Daily Mail this week, ‘Cindy still hasn’t gotten over her brother, who was the only one. She discusses it often, and that memory still pains her.’
In her own words, she spoke about it on a podcast episode the following year. The model explained the experience of the trauma of survivorship; in particular, she and her sisters, who knew that their father, John, really wanted a son, had no reason why the boy was so sick for his short life.
Now An Only Child: Why Cindy Fears For Kaia Most
She also poignantly expressed the way the births of her own children had changed her view of that loss. She quoted a dialogue that she remembered as having happened with her mother during a phone call when “my kids have just started being born” (presumably when Presley was born): “Mom, how did you survive?’ she asked her mom, who replied, ‘You can’t imagine losing a child until you have a child, and even then, you don’t want to imagine it.’
I remember my mother having once said, ‘Well, I had three other kids who were looking out for me; I should have been there for them.’
In a way, because of us, I think, she got up and did the thing that she thought she should do.’
Meanwhile, the devastating pain that Cindy has never imagined but must be familiar to her, at the very least, is the sorrow of losing a son—that is what she is facing now. She is also being faced with the task of comforting her daughter’s grief in a way that is very familiar to her.
Everyone is hurt, but, as a family friend said, our focus was mainly on Kaia. “Suddenly she becomes a daughter without any siblings,” comments a family friend. “She has lost her brother, who she loved so much. While Kaia has lots of friends and a boyfriend who is there for her, Cindy is deeply concerned about how Presley’s death will impact daughter Kaia in the long run.
‘She, I guess, draws from her own experience that Presley’s passing will remain in Kaia’s memory through her entire life. How is that even possible not to happen?’
Born when Cindy and Rande, who is now 64, married in the year 1999 and were married 0 years ago, is who is behind Presley. In addition to George Clooney, a family friend, being a co-founder of the Casamigos tequila brand, Rande and Cindy are another such founding pair.
‘Pure Bliss’: When Cindy Crawford Became a Mother
As Cindy wrote in her autobiography “Becoming”: ‘There was always such peace in my mind about wanting children. ”It just couldn’t be that immediate. When the time finally came, a few months had passed before I saw that adorable smiley on my pregnancy test. We were both completely joyful.’
She gave birth to Presley at home.
‘Around midnight, I suddenly got up and realized it was about time, the last day of June 2nd and 7 hours later I was already lying down in bed together with my husband and little baby boy, feeling like the happiest person alive. We simply did not feel anything but the great love and joy of this new addition.’ (I think that’s a very natural way to convey how amazing that first day as a mother felt).
The day the baby was born, we decided to name him Presley Walker Gerber, and immediately after that I felt I truly was a mother. That moment changed everything, and it also made me feel so deeply fulfilled.’
Two further years passed, and Presley’s sister Kaia was born.
Cindy added, ‘Becoming a parent and learning to love a child must probably stand amongst the most selfless things that people can have done. I hope every now and again I will always remain a source of unconditional love and comfort for my children—just as my mother was for me.’
Though, she confessed, she did sometimes miss out on events, but always, she has tried being present for her children.
Shirt Off In New York: How Fame Came Too Fast For Presley
He started off just being a healthy teenager who loved sports and was always hanging around the water—school surf team, water polo, and swim squad. ‘The strongest addiction I ever had,’ he recalls, ‘was to surfing and the thrill of being in the ocean.’
However, his inner demons had also taken hold at a very early age. At only 15, he had already been on the antidepressant Prozac for quite some time. He signed with a modeling agency, called IMG, that very year (by coincidence, his 13-year-old sister was also one of their signings for that season). He was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder at the time, but afterwards he was referred to how labels were given, like one would throw away candy. The beginning of his drug addiction came out quite easily.
Medications that would numb his feelings, ones that he felt would make him more active, and ones that he turned to for the purposes of sleep help or to deal with his state of anxiety or depression. He literally couldn’t stop.
Things became really hectic all of a sudden, and he was going from place to place all at once, almost like he was caught up in a whirlwind that never stopped. When he was 16, he was walking the runway for Moschino (an Italian label); he had a Calvin Klein campaign with Kaia and was on the cover of GQ. Definitely a glamorous and fun phase. ‘One of the first things I can remember about the time when I signed up is getting photoshoots taken for magazines, being shirtless in New York; my entire life changed in that month,’ he says later. ‘I had to mature fast.’
Be Kind—The Painfully Frank Diaries of Presley Gerber
But there was another side to all this. Presley, for instance, got into trouble with the court in 2019 due to the charges of driving under the influence, which got him 3 years of probation.
He has a tattoo of “Misunderstood” written in the middle of his face at that time.
In an interview, Presley talked about the tattoo: “Because I felt that my whole life I was misunderstood,” he said. Then, in a surprising twist, he decided to remove the ink. Just in the past few years, he had been gradually opening up and revealing his side of things in a series called “Mental Health Mondays” video diaries, which he shared on Instagram. It was quite honestly very painful for someone to talk about all the drugs, the depression, the rehab, and the more alternative or holistic therapies that he had experienced.
They are eloquent, sincere in words, frank in spirit, and full of pain at revealing truths that hurt. In fact, his Insta bio is a very simple statement: “Be kind.”
Kaia was also interviewed by Vogue, where she gave insight into how her brother was struggling; she was not very far from those issues herself, and it turned out that she confessed in the same kind of way as her brother. The interview was published one month before her brother’s death.
“I think that’s also why I started to self-label myself as the easy one and never wanted to ask for help. Because it felt like too much having two children who were needing,” she said.
The Ketamine Link That Haunts Hollywood Again
Presley was allegedly receiving prescriptions from his doctor for ketamine, a decision that might be made without the patient’s awareness or with a limited number of prescriptions being allowed.
It is exactly the same chemical involved that is listed as a cause of Matthew Perry’s passing in the year that 2023 brought with it. Which drugs might or might not appear in Presley’s drug test results will be known better once the cops and the medical professionals finish the autopsy or the drug toxicology part, respectively.
The most pitiful, maybe, to think about is only a couple of months back, in June, that Presley, with hands embracing both of his parents, radiated happiness being part of the charity event in which he was taking part and was talking openly in a mental health panel discussion.
The one person in the audience who he was most honest with himself, as he freely stated at that venue, The presence of his parents, which was quite obvious, and the level of support they were continuing to provide was beyond question.
Celebrity photographer Katie Levine, having previously captured photographs of Presley, said to the Daily Mail, in the quotes given here, that she has remained sober and been there for Presley all these years. She also pointed out that the presence of the parents and sister had been quite a frequent thing in Presley’s life, supporting him a lot all the time. He had been really proud and happy of his family. A person who had lots of potential in her eyes is the one that the woman recalls.
The One Missing Piece: Heartache Behind the Perfect Life
After returning to LA, the Gerbers are going through a tough time.
“Everyone believed that Cindy was happy living the ideal life,” a close friend of the family explains. “It looked as if everything she wanted in life—money, fame, beauty, and a happy marriage—was at her disposal. Unfortunately, there was great sadness that had been hidden from the world.
Coping with the death of her brother was a big part of it. For the family, their only comfort is knowing that Presley has finally passed from his pain. Yet, there has been a heartbroken family left behind who will have a lifetime of not being able to find closure. There will always be that missing part of the family.
