Paris Hilton has paid tribute to her long-time buddy Presley Gerber – who she described as a “stunning soul” – following his demise aged 27.
“I am utterly heartbroken. I nonetheless cannot consider that is actual,” the 45-year-old socialite wrote on her Instagram Tales on Sunday a few throwback picture of the beaming couple.
“Presley, you have been such an attractive soul. So mild, delicate, form and real.
“I cared about you a lot and I’m going to overlook you greater than phrases can say.”
Hilton recalled his longtime friendship with Gerber, the one son of mannequin Cindy Crawford.
The couple rubbed shoulders at excessive society occasions in Los Angeles. Gerber attended Hilton’s thirty ninth birthday at his Los Angeles mansion in February 2020, and he attended the premiere of Hilton’s “Infinite Icon: A Visible Memoir” in January — about eight months earlier than his demise.
“I’ll at all times cherish the recollections we shared – the laughs, the conversations and simply being with you,” Hilton wrote.
“You had such a mild coronary heart and there was one thing so particular about you that anybody fortunate sufficient to know you might sense.
“I hope you knew how deeply beloved you have been and the way many individuals cared about you.
“My coronary heart goes out to your complete household throughout this unimaginable time.
“Relaxation in peace, my buddy. I really like you eternally. We’ll miss you a lot.”
Gerber, who lengthy struggled with habit, died in a rehabilitation heart. An post-mortem has not but been accomplished.
Gerber – who adopted in her mannequin mom’s footsteps and signed with IMG Fashions at simply 15 years previous – had beforehand made headlines for her struggles with substance abuse and psychological well being.
At age 19, Gerber was arrested for drunk driving after being stopped for dashing in Beverly Hills, California.
In July 2019, he pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor cost and was sentenced to a few years of probation, neighborhood service and a DUI program.
The next yr, Gerber was photographed finishing court-ordered necessities at a drug testing facility as a part of his 2019 DUI.
In 2024, the Beverly Hills-born mannequin introduced that he had battled a severe opioid habit for a number of years and had a near-fatal fentanyl overdose that left him in a coma for a number of days.
He then checked himself into rehab for remedy with the psychedelic ibogaine.
Gerber has additionally beforehand spoken out about her battles with prescription drug habit and final month, her sister, Kaia, spoke candidly about her battles with habit.
“When one thing like this occurs in a household, it places everybody on the identical web page,” she instructed Vogue.
“We now have this absolute instructor, my brother, who says, ‘I will be very humane to everybody.’ There are solely so many issues you’ll be able to cover from the world.
“And making an attempt to cover one thing simply makes the individual really feel such as you’re ashamed of them.”