‘The person he is now, in many ways, is a stranger’: Kate Garraway opens up about life with frail husband Derek Draper as he slowly recovers from COVID in first look at documentary Caring For Derek
- Kate Garraway, 54, showed her inner strength as she said she is finding a new way to be in love with husband Derek Draper in new documentary Kate Garraway: Caring For Derek
- Derek, 54, fell seriously ill with Covid in March 2020 and was in hospital for more than a year after being put into an induced coma by doctors
- Good Morning Britain presenter Kate is starting to accept the changes in her life with Derek as he slowly recovers
- The broadcaster says she and Derek are finding a new way to be in love and he is learning to be there for their children Darcey, 15, and William, 12, again
- Kate is seen in the documentary helping Derek in and out of bed using special equipment and in other shots he is seen in a wheelchair with his family
- TV star Kate said: ‘I’m very protective of people seeing him vulnerable but this is the reality of life for people that are caring’
Kate Garraway showed her inner strength as she said she is finding a new way to be in love with husband Derek Draper after he fell seriously ill with Covid in a first look at her new documentary Kate Garraway: Caring For Derek.
In an advert for the ITV programme, the Good Morning Britain host, 54, said: ‘I’m very protective of people seeing him vulnerable but this is the reality of life for people that are caring.
‘The person he is now, in many ways, is a stranger.’
Tough: Kate Garraway, 54, said she’s finding a new way to be in love with husband Derek Draper, 54, after he fell seriously ill with Covid in Kate Garraway: Caring For Derek first look
Life Stories presenter Kate is starting to accept the changes in her life with Derek, 54, as he slowly recovers, adding: ‘ If we have a love and he can be a dad to the children in a whole new way, that’s life isn’t it.’
Derek was struck down with coronavirus in March 2020 and doctors put him into an induced coma.
He did not return home for more than a year and Derek, who has been battling serious health problems since, has at times felt suicidal.
Road to recovery: In a new advert for the ITV programme, Kate said: ‘I’m very protective of people seeing him vulnerable but this is the reality of life for people that are caring’
Adjusting: Life Stories presenter Kate is starting to accept the changes in her life with Derek as he slowly recovers
Kate is seen at home with Derek and their children Darcey, 15, and William, 12, in the promo, and is seen lifting Derek in and out of a special bed.
In other shots, Derek is seen sitting in a wheelchair as he shares some quality moments with his family.
In an interview with today’s You magazine, the TV star admitted her relationship with the political lobbyist turned psychotherapist has changed since he was struck down by the virus in March 2020.
Difficult times: Kate is seen helping Derek in and out of his bed as he uses special equipment in the advert
Changing relationship: Kate said of Derek: ‘The person he is now, in many ways, is a stranger,’ as she spoke of how he is after falling ill with coronavirus
Family time: Kate is seen at home with Derek and their children Darcey, 15, and William, 12, as the loved ones spend some quality time together
‘I’m not sure that we’ve ever fallen out of love, but I think a new path is emerging, a new way to be in love,’ said Kate.
‘He puts huge trust in me. He just says, “Whatever you think”, which is wonderful, but I do get quite tearful about it. I think, “God, I hope I’m worthy of that trust”.
‘But I’ve got his back. That is a relationship in itself, isn’t it? How many times do couples have doubts about each other?
Husband and wife: Kate has found ‘a new way to be in love’ with Derek (pictured together in December 2019) as he continues his slow recovery from the ravages of coronavirus
‘That’s a positive thing to come out of this, to have that certainty of each other. He and I are very close.’
Kate won a National Television Award last year for Finding Derek, a moving documentary that detailed her family’s plight during his 13 months in hospital.
‘I still sense that in him,’ says Kate of Derek’s past suicidal thoughts. ‘But now I think he believes he can get better, but until we know how, it’s challenging.’
The presenter, who has been Derek’s principal carer since his release from hospital last April, says that although her husband is often ‘lost and confused’, she is buoyed by flashes of his former self.
‘It’s an emotional rollercoaster, but if it is gruelling for me, it’s even more so for him, I’m sure, because he’s living with it,’ she says.
‘As much as it impacts on the children and myself, being in his body must be so much worse.’
In hospital: Derek was so severely ill he was placed in a medically induced coma for several months, and continues to have ‘extraordinary problems with communication’
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