How Cindy Crawford’s life has been haunted by tragedy – as son Presley’s death aged 27 follows harrowing childhood loss

CINDY Crawford is living every mother’s nightmare following the untimely death of her only son Presley at the tender age of 27. For the 60-year-old fashion icon, the loss of her boy will be a cruel and harrowing echo of a childhood trauma that has haunted her life. The model has spoken for years about surviving the death of her brother – now she is facing an unimaginable new loss Credit: Getty Cindy was just eight when her brother Jeff died from leukaemia, a loss she has carried with her throughout her life Credit: OWN The supermodel’s life has been marred with grief since she was a young girl. Long before she was a household name, Cindy watched her family be torn apart by her beloved little brother, Jeff, when he was diagnosed with childhood leukaemia. Sign up for the Showbiz newsletter Thank you! He was just two years old when the brutal disease struck, and Cindy just eight. It was a tragedy which would shape the rest of life. In an interview, she confessed: “I was 8, my older sister would have been 10. My younger sister would have been 4 and Jeff was like 2, turning 3 when he got diagnosed, and then he was sick for two years.” Cindy’s childhood loss has now taken on a devastating new significance following the death of her son Presley Credit: Shutterstock Editorial The supermodel has spoken about how losing Jeff shaped her understanding of grief and family Credit: Getty Cindy’s mum was responsible for taking little Jeff to receive cancer treatment two hours away while her father worked to pay the bills. “I mean we kind of had to get pawned off on aunts and uncles and grandmas, and fortunately, we had an extended family in our town,” Cindy explained. Cindy said the division in her family was “definitely a hardship”, but that she “didn’t really feel it as a kid. And I didn’t know – we knew [Jeff] was sick, but we didn’t really know what was going on.” Sadly Jedd’s condition deteriorated and he died at the age of three. Cindy said her mum made a conscious decision to keep pushing forward for her three other children, but it was not something she fully grasped until having her own children, Kaia and Presley. Most read in Showbiz “When he died, obviously that was devastating for the whole family. I think for my mother, she was able and chose to really grieve properly. “She went to death and dying courses. She has a very strong faith. “So she was able to move through grief. I think for my father, he had to go to work three days later… They just handled it very differently.” “She was able to help us deal with it. I remember when I had my first kid… then I called my mom and was like, ‘OK, how did you survive?’ You know? ‘Cause you can’t imagine losing a child until you have a child.” Cindy has previously revealed that she and her sisters were left with feelings of survivor’s guilt after Jeff’s death Credit: Getty Presley Gerber was Cindy’s only son and the older brother of model Kaia Gerber Credit: Instagram She said: “But I remember her saying, ‘Well, I had three other kids looking at me like to lead them through this.’ And I think because of us, she kind of got out of bed.” The fashion icon said that she and her sisters Chris and Danielle all felt guilty for outliving their little brother. “I’m not sure [my parents] definitely wanted four kids, but they wanted a boy. My dad wanted a boy… The fourth was the boy. And I think there was a lot of guilt,” she explained. “I was talking about this with someone yesterday who lost a sister, like there’s survivor guilt of the other kids and especially because we knew that my dad really wanted a boy.” “And we felt like, ‘Well, it should have been one of us.’ And it was so weird, like for years my sisters and I would all have like these same nightmares… that it should have been one of us.” She said that her mum also struggled with her grief, but she understands why. Cindy explained: “My mom wouldn’t have known to say this. She was 26 years old and had just lost a child… I needed to hear, ‘Yes, we’re so sad that Jeff died, but we’re so happy you’re here.’ “And, of course, my mom didn’t know how to say that. But then, through doing the work myself, I was able to ask my mom to say that now, as an adult… just to kind of close the loop on that feeling.” Now the unthinkable has happened and Cindy knows exactly how her mother feels as she copes with the death of her own son after Presley Gerber, 27, who had long struggled with addiction, passed away at a rehab centre on Sunday. Presley was the only son of Cindy and her businessman husband, Rande Gerber, and the older brother of model-actor Kaia Gerber. Presley followed his mum’s footsteps and began modelling aged 15 in 2015. Making his runway debut for Italian label Moschino, Presley went on to model for brands including Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, and Bottega Veneta. The Beverly Hills-born model revealed his struggles with addiction in 2024, describing a near-fatal fentanyl overdose. Last night, Gerber’s mum, dad, and sister said in a statement: “The family is asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time,” The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner said Presley died at an undisclosed rehab facility. The cause of death was not listed. Four months earlier Cindy had branded her son a “warrior” as the family rallied around Presley after he discussed undergoing addiction treatment. In a now-heartbreaking post, he said he had “faced” what he was running from and was “finding” his “way back”. Cindy commented under the post: “You are a warrior! Walked thru fire to find yourself! So proud!” Now, once again, Cindy’s world has been rocked by loss and will undoubtedly take her back to the childhood grief which has haunted her life. Comment now