Kaia Gerber Opens Up About Brother Presley’s Long Struggle With Addiction

Kaia Gerber is opening up about her brother Presley Gerber’s long and difficult battle with addiction, saying his struggles affected the entire family and changed the way she viewed her own needs.

In a candid interview with Vogue, the 24-year-old model described what it was like growing up alongside a sibling dealing with serious substance abuse and mental health challenges.

“When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone,” Kaia said.

She explained that the experience led her to see herself as “the easy one” in the family. Rather than asking for help herself, she felt that another child needing support would be too much for her parents to handle.

“I think that’s also why I started to self-identify as the easy one and never wanted to ask for help,” she said.

Kaia is the daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber. The family has generally kept their personal lives private, making her comments about Presley’s struggles particularly revealing.

Despite the painful experience, Kaia said she is proud of the way her older brother has chosen to be open about his recovery.

“We have this absolute teacher, my brother, who says, ‘I’m gonna be very human for everyone,’” she told Vogue. “There’s only so much you can hide from the world.”

Kaia also said that hiding addiction can make the person struggling feel ashamed.

“And trying to put a lid on something just makes the person feel like you’re ashamed of them,” she added.

Presley, 27, has faced addiction and mental health issues in the public eye for several years. His struggles first made headlines in 2019, when he was arrested at age 19 for driving under the influence after being pulled over for speeding in Beverly Hills, California.

He later pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor DUI charge and received three years of probation, community service and a requirement to participate in a DUI program.

In 2024, Presley publicly revealed more about the severity of his addiction. He said he had battled a serious, years-long opioid addiction and experienced a near-fatal fentanyl overdose that left him in a coma for several days.

He subsequently announced plans to enter rehab and undergo ibogaine treatment, a psychedelic treatment that has been studied for its potential use in addiction and trauma recovery.

Presley later spoke about his experience with prescription medications, saying he had developed a dependency after seeing more than 15 psychiatrists. He claimed that he had been heavily medicated without receiving what he considered a structured path toward recovery.

In December 2025, Presley also said he had been sober from alcohol for five months, revealing that his last drink had been in July of that year.

For Kaia, her brother’s willingness to speak publicly about addiction has become an important lesson for the entire family. Rather than treating his struggles as something to hide, she sees his openness as a reminder that addiction and recovery are deeply human experiences.

Her comments offer a rare glimpse into how a highly private family has dealt with a painful issue behind the scenes—and how Presley’s decision to speak openly has affected those closest to him.