Kate Garraway reveals that Derek 'remains very damaged'
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Speaking to her 1.1 million Instagram followers, Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway, 55, videoed herself in her back garden thanking viewers and fans for voting for her ITV documentary Caring for Derek to pick up a prize at the upcoming National Television Awards (NTAs). As part of the video, Kate took the opportunity to share how she sometimes feels “frustrated, emotional and depressed” caring for her husband Derek Draper, 55, who is one of the UK’s longest-suffering COVID-19 patients.
The TV personality said: “In the documentary [Caring For Derek] you saw me frustrated, depressed, emotional, and I’ve been all of those and more in recent weeks and months.
“Because that’s the thing with caring, you want it to carry on because you want the person to be surviving and still with you, so that you can care for them.
“But there isn’t an end point and it doesn’t get any easier.”
Speaking on World Mental Health Day, Kate added: “As much as you don’t begrudge doing it, it is very very hard.”
With the cost of living crisis looming over many carers and their loved ones, Kate has partnered with multiple charities to continue supporting those who are looking after loved ones or who work as carers on a daily basis.
One charity, Carers First, found the shocking statistic that 93 percent of carers say that they “can’t sleep because they are so terrified about the future”.
“More than half say that they have severe mental health problems,” Kate explained.
“Let’s be honest, every single one of us in this country will either need care ourselves or will have to be a carer for someone at some point in our lives.
“It’s just the way life is. It will come to us all eventually,” a sincere Kate continued to say.
Following her post on social media, Kate was back, this time on her Instagram stories, where she said that the response from the public has been “incredible”.
“Thank you for getting in touch, thank you for being interested in it,” Kate said, as she sat in her kitchen.
“I also checked in with Derek,” the presenter added, with a smile on her face.
“[I] told him about your reactions and it means everything to him.
“When you are battling a long term illness, to have a sense of purpose that you are helping others, it is worth a million pounds.
“So thank you for voting and thank you for staying in touch. It means the world not just to me but to the production company and everyone else.”
A sincere and heartfelt Kate gained a lot of support from the public, with her Instagram post gaining 25,798 likes so far, and plenty more comments from the public and her celebrity friends.
The star also reflected on Derek’s tough recovery from Covid when appearing on ITV’s DNA Journey with Alison Hammond.
While retracing her ancestry, Kate spoke of how “devastating” a year 2020 was for her personally, and how her whole family still “remain very damaged”.
Kate also praised Alison – who she appeared on the show alongside – for being such a support to her during the difficult times with Derek.
She said: “Alison, she was messaging me to say she was thinking of me in that way.”
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