A bad face tattoo? Struggles with addiction and depression? Despite his supermodel looks and famous parents, Presley Gerber's time in the spotlight hasn't always been easy.
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00A bad face tattoo? Struggles with addiction and depression? Despite his supermodel looks
00:04and famous parents, Presley Gerber's time in the spotlight hasn't always been easy.
00:09When Presley Gerber, son of Cindy Crawford and fellow model Randy Gerber, first stepped
00:13into the modeling scene, he had minimal tattoos and a fresh, clean face that closely resembled
00:17his supermodel mother. By 2020, the young model had colorful ink all across his arms,
00:22torso, and neck.
00:23Though large tattoos are usually frowned upon in the modeling world, there was one shocking
00:27tattoo that had social media in an uproar. The then-19-year-old debuted a face tattoo
00:32that read,
00:33"'Misunderstood' on his right cheek. Many fans on his Instagram expressed their concerns
00:36about him ruining his life and career opportunities. Gerber eventually addressed the backlash on
00:41Instagram Live.
00:42"'If I thought this was gonna ruin my face, or I didn't want this, I wouldn't have done
00:46it.'"
00:47He later gave a blunt explanation for the tattoo, saying he's felt misunderstood for
00:51his entire life.
00:52Gerber answered tons of questions from fans and shot back at a lot of the negative comments.
00:56He denied using drugs and even claimed mom Cindy Crawford was supportive of the tattoo.
01:01"'My mom, she… she likes it.'"
01:05Gerber had the tattoo removed the following year.
01:08In October 2022, Gerber teased that he had taken his relationship with model Lexi Wood
01:13to the next level. The pair had been dating for less than a year when Gerber went public
01:17with their relationship on Instagram and implied that he had popped the question. The model
01:21captioned a carousel of photos of the two, quote,
01:24The photos included one snapshot of the two kissing on the beach. Wood reposted the post
01:28on her Instagram stories with a heart emoji, an infinity sign, and a lock and key.
01:33Despite the congratulations flooding in from fans, the pair shockingly called it quits
01:36less than a month later. According to E! News, they parted ways in December and deleted all
01:41traces of each other on Instagram. Though she was spotted with Gerber a week prior to
01:45the breakup, a source close to Wood claimed she was ready to move on. Ouch.
01:49In a rare interview on the Studio 22 podcast in 2023, a more mature Gerber reflected on
01:55his past mistakes and vulnerably shared his struggles with mental health. He said,
01:58So, for me and having struggled with mental health, depression, and some other things
02:02that come along with that, I think that whether I help one person or a hundred people get
02:06out of that place that I was in at one point in my life, that's all I need to do."
02:10Despite the public backlash he faced for his past antics, Gerber believes they were lessons
02:14he had to learn and hopefully pass on to others.
02:16What I hope I can do is have made the mistakes for some other people so they don't have to
02:21make the same mistakes that I made."
02:23While taking a break from modeling, Gerber started an initiative aimed at raising awareness
02:26about mental health and helping others find healthy coping mechanisms. On his Instagram
02:30page, he launched a series titled Mental Health Mondays and opened up practices that can positively
02:36impact mental health. The model explained that he hopes the weekly episodes impact people
02:40to seek help.
02:41After years of excessive media scrutiny, Presley Gerber knows a thing or two about being on
02:45the receiving end of hate. By 2023, a more mature Gerber reflected on that social media
02:50hate and this time revealed the toll it took on his mental health. On Episode 2 of his
02:54Mental Health Mondays Instagram series, Gerber offered his followers advice on navigating
02:58the social media storm, saying,
03:00"...I have let a single comment ruin my day, and I've learned how to not let that energy
03:04that those keyboard warriors affect me anymore. It's up to you to be able to block that energy
03:08to not be able to receive it."
03:09Gerber shared that he had firsthand experience of dealing with negative comments and advised
03:13people to detox from social media.
03:15"...At any time, if social media gets too much, there's no shame in taking a break,
03:21right?"
03:22Gerber also urged his followers to reach out to friends if hate on social media ever begins
03:26to consume them and encourage them to begin practicing healthier habits. He said he has
03:30more to learn himself, and everyone is on the journey together.
03:34In August 2024, Gerber took to his Instagram stories and gave shocking insight into his
03:38personal struggles. In a message to fans, Gerber came clean about his struggles with
03:42addiction and revealed that he was in recovery.
03:44"...I'm dealing with a current fairly high opiate addiction, and I've been on and off
03:50of them for, you know, years now."
03:53Gerber went on to tell fans that he was preparing to undergo ibogaine treatment, a psychedelic
03:57meant to treat addiction and PTSD. He noted that the closer he got to his detox date,
04:02the more scared he was. Despite the serious nature of the topic and his jitters about
04:05the treatment, Gerber sounded refreshed and motivated about getting clean.
04:10"...I'm letting everyone know so there's some accountability in the situation."
04:15This moment of honesty seemed to be a full-circle moment for a boy who once declared himself
04:19misunderstood.
04:21If you or anyone you know needs help with addiction issues, help is available. Visit
04:25the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's
04:29National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP, 4357.