Kaia Gerber's Heartfelt Tribute to Presley: The Words That Moved Everyone
Kaia Gerber is speaking out after brother Presley Gerber's death at 27.
"Prez, I don’t have the words, and maybe the tiny mercy is that we didn’t need them all along. Words fail and words subtract and words summarize and words always lack truth. And how naive of me to believe that language could transcend grief," Kaia, 25, began in her statement shared via Instagram on Sunday, October 18. "I’ve read all of the books and I have none of the answers. My articulation is no match against this, the magnitude of losing you. I am, quite literally, down on my f***ing knees."
She continued, "You know how much I loved being your sister. It has always been, and will forever be, my favorite thing about myself. I came into this world with a white-knuckle grip around you. I had more love for you than I knew what to do with. And now that it has nowhere obvious to go, I’m certain it’s going to swallow me whole."
In her statement, Kaia noted that Presley "always believed" in people and "met cruelty not with anger, but with confusion" and "curiosity."
"You believed people were inherently good because, Presley, you are inherently good," she wrote. "And somehow, through all of it, I got to be your sister, your lucky eternal witness, watching you do the most hard-core, heavy metal thing anyone can do: you stayed soft."
Kaia recalled him being her "ultimate teacher while you were here, and now I’m left wondering what I could possibly be taught in your absence."
"And I keep thinking about how when we were little, I got scared before getting my ears pierced, so you went first. You always went first. But when I held the earring they took from your body, all I could think was: that belongs to you," she wrote. "And I really f***ing wish you hadn’t gone first this time."
She continued, "One of the last things you wrote about was a dream you had where animals were running from a fire into a lake. You wondered, 'If fear makes type of animal not matter.' You left me with the answer. Whatever kind of animal I was before this doesn’t matter anymore. To say loving you was the easiest thing in the world would imply that it required any effort at all. I was born loving you. I will die loving you. There was never anything else."
Kaia noted that she's now "learning how to love you when I cannot see you," adding, "How to tell you something without picking up my phone to call you. How to be your sister in a world that I can’t reach for you in."
She continued, "I don’t know how to do that yet. You missed our date. I forgive you. Keep a place for me in the meantime. Because, Presley, even knowing where it ends, I would choose it all over again. Every second. I would walk knowingly toward this grief if it meant that on the other side of it I got to be your sister."
Kaia went on to quote Richard Feynman, who once wrote to his late wife, “You, dead, are so much better than anyone else alive. My darling wife, I do adore you. I love my wife. My wife is dead.”
"Give me the whole impossible bargain. Give me every year with you and then give me this. Alright. I'll take it," she wrote. "My darling brother, I do adore you. I love my brother, my brother is dead. And this party sucks so bad without you, prez."
She continued, "My best buddy, my great protector, the hardest I've ever laughed and the one true love of my life -- you lit all of my candles and took all of my monsters away. And I love you. And I love you. And I love you. Only you know how much. Thank you for being here."
Alongside the message, Kaia shared a childhood video of the pair dancing and an image of the brother-sister duo standing by the ocean.
"P.S. this song is the last thing we talked about. First you were. You always went first," she concluded, captioning the upload, "I love you the bluest, to the moon and back and back again, forever big brother."
Earlier on Sunday, Kaia and her family shared a statement honoring Presley via mom Cindy Crawford's Instagram.
"Presley Walker Gerber. July 2, 1999-September 20, 2026. We are beyond heartbroken to lose our beloved son and brother. We feel so blessed to have had Presley in our lives for 27 years," the message read. "He is a sweet, beautiful soul who loved and is loved, now and forever. We are so proud of how he showed up in the world, with kindness and vulnerability. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and support from so many who know and love our family and even strangers who feel our pain. Til we meet again our sweet boy. We love you forever, Mom, Dad and Kaia ��."
Us confirmed on September 20, that Crawford and husband Rande Gerber's son died in a rehab facility. (A cause of death has yet to be revealed.)
"The family is asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time," read the statement from Presley's family.
Celebrities subsequently took to social media to share heartfelt tributes.
“I’m completely heartbroken. I still can’t believe this is real,” Paris Hilton wrote via her Instagram Stories. “You were such a beautiful soul. So sweet, sensitive, kind and genuine. I cared about you so much, and I’m going to miss you more than words can say.”
Hilton, 45, said she would “cherish the memories” she shared with Presley.
“You had such a gentle heart and there was something so special about you that anyone who was lucky enough to know you could feel,” she continued. “I hope you knew how deeply loved you were and how many people cared about you. My heart is with your entire family during this unimaginable time. Rest in peace, my friend. Love you forever. You will be so deeply missed.”
David and Victoria Beckham’s son Brooklyn Beckham, meanwhile, shared a tribute via social media, writing, “Presley you were the kindest and we are going to miss you so much. We love you.”
Before Presley's death, Kaia opened up about watching him battle mental health struggles and substance abuse.
“When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone,” she told Vogue in August. “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 praised Presley for using his own experience to help others.
“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.’ There’s only so much you can hide from the world,” she added at the time. “And trying to put a lid on something just makes the person feel like you’re ashamed of them.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
