In the days following Presley Gerber’s sudden death at 27, photographs from different chapters of his life have resurfaced across social media. There are childhood pictures with his parents, Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber; modeling photographs from the years when he seemed destined to follow his mother into fashion; and candid snapshots showing the quieter life he shared with the people closest to him.
But among the memories recently shared by one of his former girlfriends was something much simpler.
It wasn’t a glamorous photograph or a carefully written public declaration.
It was a small handwritten note stuck to a computer.
And it contained only a few words.
Lexi Wood remembers Presley
Following Gerber’s death on September 20, 2026, his former girlfriend Lexi Wood shared an emotional collection of photographs and videos from the time they spent together.
Wood and Gerber publicly dated in 2022, eventually making their relationship Instagram official. Their romance attracted attention partly because Presley had spent most of his life surrounded by fame, while Wood would later become known to a wider audience through Summer House. (Just Jared)
Yet Wood’s tribute focused far less on celebrity than on the person she remembered privately.
She described Presley as kind, open, loving and courageous, saying that friendship remained at the center of their relationship even as it changed over the years. (AOL.com)
Then came one photograph that stood apart from everything else.
It showed a sticky note Presley had apparently left for her on a computer.
His handwritten message read:
“I’m so proud of you, you’re amazing Lexi. I love you.”
The image was included among Wood’s memories of their relationship following his death. (Yahoo News Malaysia)
A glimpse of the Presley she knew privately
For Wood, gestures like that apparently captured an important part of him.
She remembered Presley as deeply affectionate and thoughtful, but also as someone who had endured difficult periods and kept trying to move forward. She described him as “incredibly resilient” and said he had fought hard for his life. (TMZ)
That description carries particular significance because Presley himself had increasingly spoken publicly about his struggles in the years before his death.
Rather than keeping those experiences entirely private, he discussed mental health, addiction and his attempts at treatment, saying that he hoped sharing what he had experienced might eventually help somebody else. (EW.com)
Wood remembered that ambition too, writing that he wanted to use his story to help others. (TMZ)
His final months were marked by attempts at recovery
In the months before his death, Presley had been unusually candid about seeking treatment.
One of his final social-media posts discussed a frightening treatment experience that he hoped would mark a turning point.
His family publicly encouraged him.
Cindy Crawford wrote that her son was a “warrior” and told him she was proud of him, while his sister Kaia Gerber also publicly celebrated his efforts. Presley responded affectionately to both. (TMZ)
Those exchanges have inevitably taken on a different meaning after what happened on September 20.
Gerber died at age 27 while at a rehabilitation facility in Los Angeles. Police described the death initially as a suspected overdose; an autopsy was performed, but additional testing was required before authorities could establish an official cause and manner of death. (People.com)
That distinction matters: as of September 24, the final medical examiner determination has not been publicly established in the sources reviewed.
Another former girlfriend remembered a “pure love”
Wood was not the only former partner to speak publicly.
Charlotte D’Alessio, who had a longer relationship with Gerber, shared her own collection of old photographs after learning of his death.
Her tribute was filled with disbelief and anger.
She wrote that they had shared a “pure love” and said Presley deserved more time and more life. She also posted an old video of him running outside with a dog, saying that was how she wanted to remember him. (Us)
The photographs revealed something celebrity headlines often couldn’t: ordinary pieces of relationships that continued to matter long after those relationships had ended.
Growing up as Cindy Crawford’s son
Presley Walker Gerber was born into one of America’s most recognizable celebrity families.
His mother was one of the defining supermodels of her generation. His father, Rande Gerber, built a successful career in hospitality and business. His younger sister, Kaia Gerber, eventually became a prominent model and actress herself.
For Presley, fashion seemed almost inevitable.
He signed with IMG Models and worked with major fashion houses and brands, including Dolce & Gabbana, Balmain, Burberry, Armani and Calvin Klein.
For a time, photographs of Presley and Kaia walking runways together created the image of a new generation continuing the Crawford-Gerber fashion legacy.
But Presley’s appearance and public persona gradually changed.
He accumulated tattoos, including the highly publicized word “MISUNDERSTOOD” beneath his eye in 2020. At the time, Presley explained that the tattoo reflected the way he sometimes felt about himself and the way others perceived him.
Behind those visible changes, however, Presley would eventually reveal that he was dealing with much more complicated personal struggles.
He wanted his experiences to mean something
Perhaps one of the most poignant parts of the story is that Presley had begun trying to turn his own difficulties into something useful.
He spoke openly about mental health and addiction rather than presenting a perfectly polished version of his life.
His sister later discussed the effect his addiction had had on their family and praised his willingness to talk publicly about what he was experiencing. (EW.com)
That is also the Presley Wood chose to emphasize in her farewell.
She didn’t define him by the circumstances surrounding his death.
Instead, she remembered someone who loved intensely, showed affection openly and kept fighting through periods that people watching from the outside might never have understood.
And she said she felt fortunate for the years of friendship, memories and love they had shared. (ondoho.com)
Then there is that little note
Of all the photographs Wood could have selected, the handwritten message may be the most intimate.
There is nothing polished about it.
No red carpet.
No professional photographer.
No carefully constructed social-media caption.
Just a small note from one person to another:
“I’m so proud of you, you’re amazing Lexi. I love you.” (Yahoo News Malaysia)
After Presley’s death at only 27, Wood chose to share that private moment with the world.
And amid all the headlines surrounding how his life ended, the tiny piece of handwriting preserves something very different — a glimpse of how someone who knew him personally remembers the man he was when the cameras weren’t there.
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