Kate Garraway has opened up about how to handle grief and lead a life she knows and trusts from her late husband.
Following a severe Covid contraction in March 2020, Draper experienced severe health issues and passed away at the age of 56. The psychotherapist’s condition worsened in December 2023 following a cardiac arrest, and he died on January 3, 2024, after slipping into a coma.
After becoming the sole parent of their children Darcey and Billy, Kate from Good Morning Britain reflected on how she lives without David in a new interview.
“I’m hoping that I can start to see a new positive vibe for the three of us. Where we don’t look back and remember: ‘ This time last year we were doing this or that with Dad… ‘ but focus on the future”, she told Hello!
She then shared what she thought Derek would have wished for her, revealing: “Derek would want me to be grabbing life, because you learn how fast, and how easily, it can be snatched away. I know he’d be saying: ‘ You’ve got to get out and live, because I can’t. ‘”
Kate also mentioned that Darcey was attending college and Billy was about to start a younger life with her. The ITV actress claimed that the time was “sad” because she and David planned to “travel together and do more grown-up things” with the freedom of having an empty nest.
However, she added that after spending years caring for her beloved husband, she was open to the “adventure” of navigating her own life. “I’m thinking: ‘ Well, I don’t know what’s next, ‘ but rather than be terrified, try to enjoy it”, she said.
Sadly, Kate has also spoken openly about the “excessive unpayable debt” she has as a result of funding Derek’s care, after revealing that she paid out £16, 000 a month for her late husband’s around-the-clock treatment.
In her 2024 documentary Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story, she followed the last year of her husband’s life and revealed Derek’s care costs were more than her salary from the ITV. State-funded social care is only offered to those with the highest needs and lowest resources, according to her.
Wes Streeting, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, was questioned by Kate on Friday, January 3rd, about the possibility that adult social care in England will not be delivered until 2028, the first anniversary of Derek’s death.
She told Mr Streeting: “I’m going to be honest. In my mind, I’m thinking about the situation with Derek. Although today is the one-year anniversary of his passing, which is a day that only interests me, the family and I have been discussing the difficulties we encountered this year.
After saying that one of the “overriding” issues was funding, she added: “In the meantime, and I’m lucky I’ve got an incredible job which is well paid, I was having to fund the situation. What else will people be like if I’m in that position and have an excessive amount of unpayable debt as a result?
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Source: Mirror
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