Years ago, Cindy Crawford made a comment about her mother’s greatest loss. She was reflecting on her mom’s strength and perspective, but also noted that she couldn’t even imagine what her mom went through when she lost her son Jeffrey, who had leukemia and died when he was just four years old. The pain that her mom must’ve experienced as she navigated the loss of a child was beyond Cindy’s comprehension at the time.
These comments from an old interview feel especially devastating now that Cindy is also dealing with the loss of her son, Presley Gerber.
Presley died at age 27 on September 20.
For years, Presley spoke openly about his mental health and substance abuse challenges. His death is being investigated as a suspected overdose. Per People, he died at a rehab facility.
“At this time, there is no indication of foul play,” the Santa Monica Police Department said in a statement on September 21. “The official cause and matter of death will be determined by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner. The investigation remains ongoing.”
The Los Angeles Times reported that tracing the supplier of the suspected drugs is also part of this ongoing investigation, which is expected to take some time.
After his death, comments Cindy had made resurfaced.
In 2010, Cindy spoke about grief during an interview with the Mirror. At the time, she thought back to her mother’s experience of losing a child and how the traumatic loss affected her. From Cindy’s perspective, her mom had every right to be angry at the world. And yet, she didn’t seem that way at all.
“Growing up, I sometimes felt she should have been angry or outraged, and she wasn’t,” Cindy said at the time. “She had a son that died. My dad had an affair, and they divorced.”
She added, “Those were painful things for her, but they didn’t take away from her light as a person.”
Cindy thought back to how her mom navigated loss when she became a mother herself.
Cindy and her husband, Rande Gerber, welcomed Presley in 1999 and their daughter, Kaia, in 2001. After welcoming her two children, Cindy appreciated her mom’s “outlook on life” even more.
“Now I’m a mom myself I’ve really come to appreciate her outlook on life,” she said. Then, she made a comment that feels especially heartbreaking now that she has also lost a child. “I can’t imagine the pain of losing a child,” she said at the time. “He was four when he died. He was sick for two years.”
After Presley’s unexpected death, a source who spoke to People described Cindy and Rande as extremely supportive parents who were very close with their son. “Cindy and Rande could not have been more supportive of Presley,” the source said. “They were always there for him and did everything they could to help him. The family has always been incredibly close, and Presley was deeply loved.”
Another source told the publication that Cindy is understandably “heartbroken” and “completely in shock.”
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