What Presley Gerber Shared About Addiction, Health Before His Death

According to the Santa Monica Police Department, officers responded to a call of a possible overdose on Sept. 20 and, upon their arrival, found a deceased male who was later identified as Presley.

"SMPD detectives are investigating the death as a suspected overdose," the police said in a statement to E! News. "At this time, there is no indication of foul play. The official cause and manner of death will be determined by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner."

Presley's last public appearance, according to People, was at the We Are ENOUGH x Aviator Nation event in Malibu in June, where his parents were at his side. His family—which also includes sister Kaia Gerber—said in a statement to E! News that they are "asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time."

But just months before his passing, Kaia made rare comments about her family life—detailing her experience navigating her brother's battle with addiction.

"When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone," the Bottoms actress told the Vogue in a piece published Aug. 11. "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."

And he’d expressed his desire for more guidance from his medical team.

"It sucks," he added, "because I don’t have as much direction as I would like to have."

And while Presley had opened up about feeling misunderstood—at one getting the word tattooed on his face before having it removed—he was also proud of how far he’d come in areas of his life, including his drinking after having been charged with a DUI in 2019."I haven’t had alcohol in a couple of months, which is dope," he said. "That is no longer serving me."

Still, the road wasn't easy. And just months before his passing, Presley shared a video from a moment “pre Ibogaine flood dose.” According to Stanford Medicine, ibogaine has in some cases been used to treat addiction.

"I was absolutely terrified," he wrote on Instagram in March, "and I knew I would be again if I ever had to face something like this (helps to not go into the situations you do that get ya there but that’s life sometimes.)"

Noting he was focusing on self-love and this being "the last time for this reason," Presley was optimistic for the future.

"Letting go of control didn’t come easy, but I trusted there was something bigger than me guiding it," he added. "I knew why I was there. I faced what I had been running from, and somewhere in all of it, I started finding my way back to myself….We shall see….Praying it’s the last time I have to come back."

To look back at Presley’s life in pictures, read on.