Kate Garraway has revealed Derek Draper struggled to show her love during his lengthy COVID-19 battle.
Kate Garraway has revealed Derek Draper struggled to show her love during his lengthy Covid battle
The 'Good Morning Britain' presenter's late husband - who died in January aged 56 following an intense bout with the virus - will be seen speaking about his condition for the first time in a new ITV documentary, while the broadcaster also reflects on their marriage as he was fighting for his life.
Speaking in 'Kate Garraway: Derek's Story', she said: "I have accepted [my future as a carer], but how that translates into the relationship is a work in progress.
"Sometimes you show love with a big bunch of flowers, sometimes it's bringing a cup of tea at the right moment, and he can't do any of those things for me.
"So he's trying to work out how to love me - I know he loves me, but how does he show that? And I'm trying to work out if I feel loved by him. I know I am loved, so we have got a whole journey to go on there."
Kate also revealed that she was spending roughly £4,000 a week for Derek's "basic" care, which has caused her to rack up nearly £800,000 in medical debt.
She said: "Time and time again the system tell us that Derek isn’t sick enough, doesn’t have enough of a health need to qualify for funded care.
"I’ve appealed but that still hasn’t been processed two-and-a-half, three years later.
"If this is what it’s like for me, what on Earth is it like for everybody else? Something has to be done, or the whole service, the people working in it, everything is going to break.
"Derek’s care, the basic needs, not including any therapy, which I am happy to pay on top, is nearly £4,000 a week. How can I afford that? How can anybody afford £16,000 a month?
"Please God, there could be another 40 years of this."
The broadcaster admitted seeing her husband speaking about his illness in the documentary has "been pretty emotional".
She told ITV's 'Good Morning Britain': “[It] makes you want to jump in the screen and give him a hug. You can't quite believe that he's not with us to watch his story. But, hopefully, it will be very useful for others who that are going through the same thing. That's the dream and the wish."
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