Kate Garraway’s loyalty to Derek Draper – from 24-hour care to money troubles

Kate Garraway’s husband Derek Draper has passed away after his heartbreaking four-year health battle.

The 56-year-old GMB star confirmed the news on social media on Friday (January 5), writing: “I’m sad to have to tell you all that my darling husband Derek has passed away. As some of you may know he has been critically ill following a cardiac arrest in early December which, because of the damage inflicted by Covid in March 2020, led to further complications.”

“Derek was surrounded by his family in his final days and I was by his side holding his hand throughout the last long hours and when he passed. I have so much more to say, and of course I will do so in due course, but for now I just want to thank all the medical teams who fought so hard to save him and to make his final moments as comfortable and dignified as possible.

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“Sending so much love and thanks to all of you who have so generously given our family so much support. Rest gently and peacefully now Derek, my love, I was so lucky to have you in my life.”

After Derek first fell ill with Covid-19 in March 2020, Kate dedicated her entire life to caring for her spouse, who was a former political advisor and lobbyist. Derek remained in and out of hospital until his death and throughout his health battle Kate spoke frankly about the intense toll becoming his 24/7 carer had taken.

24-hour care

After being deemed well enough to leave hospital in 2020, Derek continued to require round-the-clock care which Kate taking on a role as live-in carer. The latter’s friends urged the presenter to “slow down” as she balanced looking after her Derek with her jobs on Good Morning Britain and Smooth radio.

A source told OK! magazine that Kate’s close pals were worried about her burning out, saying: “She’s barely sleeping so she’s exhausted and has been working on automatic mode recently.” They also told the outlet Kate was “juggling too many balls”.

Kate previously said she was only sleeping for around four hours most nights and had not taken a day off since Derek became sick. She said: “There are some days where he literally cannot do anything and it’s like the computer is switched off. He cannot move, and he’s in so much pain as we are manipulating him, trying to get him more mobile so that he doesn’t regress.

“I always ask him if he wants to stop, and he grunts ‘no, no’. It is unbearable, and it makes me emotional even talking about it. Derek is trapped, but he fights on.”

Heartache

Kate stressed how vital it was to look after herself while caring for Derek, telling Good Housekeeping: “He’s had to be rushed back into hospital so many times, the fear of him dying has never left us [it] means we’re living on a rollercoaster.” She added: “I worry that I’m failing on every front, at everything. But I’ve got to keep going and fight on for Derek.”

Kate Garraway opened up on GMB about the tough times caring for her husband. She said: “The thing is when it’s a long battle like with Derek, there’s no end point and it can be exhausting for the people around me too. I know sometimes people say, ‘oh she’s talking about that again’, but what I’ve learnt is you only really know what it feels like unless you’re in it. And now I get contacted by thousands and thousands of people who make me feel less alone.”

She also shared that the worry made her so ill she had to go to hospital herself – having suffered chest pain. She explained: “When I went back, they [the doctors] said ‘Yeah, we don’t think you’re strong enough to do stressor tests’… funnily enough… I mean, oh my God, we’ve had enough stressor tests.”

Missing work and financial troubles

When Derek had a heart attack, Kate stopped all her work to be with him. Jenni Falconer from Smooth Radio told everyone: “On behalf of everyone here at Smooth we’re sending lots of love and Smooth best wishes to our very own Kate Garraway.

“Kate’s husband Derek as we all know has been struggling with long-lasting damage since he suffered from covid and it doesn’t look good at the moment. it doesn’t look like he’s in a good way. So we’re sending lots of love to Kate, Derek and the family… especially at this time of the year.”

Earlier in March, Kate spoke about the financial strain Derek’s illness had caused. She told The Sun: “Of course it’s been tough financially. As anyone with a loved one who is seriously ill knows, the costs go through the roof in so many ways.”

She added: “I had to take long periods off when Derek was first sick, and of course it affects the overall income for the family as he can no longer work.”

Loneliness and impact on children

In September, Kate opened up about the loneliness she felt while caring for Derek. Speaking to The Sunday Times, she said: “Caring for someone you love is a privilege, and I will never give up, but I want to champion the cause that everyone in my position faces because I know people are drowning trying to navigate through the care system. We talk about a crisis but it is beyond crisis. It is very lonely and very difficult, and I at least do have that voice.”

Kate, who married Derek in 2005, has two children, Darcey, 17, and Billy, 11. She previously shared that they had to adjust significantly after their father fell ill.

Kate Garraway opened up about her children’s resilience in dealing with their father’s illness on Heart Breakfast in September. She said: “He’s their daddy. And it’s interesting, he comes most alive I think when he’s around [the kids]. He does come alive and you can see him kind of trying to be the old dad as much as he can, trying to make them laugh, trying to do different things.”

“But they’ve had to realise that, I mean Derek was this kind of loud, rumbustious, huge, you know… overwhelming… and god how we loved it, but he’s not that now, so they’ve had to readjust. You know how you bounce off your parents, different boundaries, and they are doing it brilliantly. They’re navigating it brilliantly.”

At the HELLO! Star Women Awards in 2020, Kate shared her struggle of being “both mum and dad” to Darcey and Billy. She reflected: “It has brought us closer but also they miss their dad, so I guess I’m trying to be mum and dad as well and obviously can’t be. It’s sad as well, so it’s making sure there’s enough laughter going on as well. That’s so important. You find yourself laughing at the silliest things and that’s kind of a release, isn’t it?”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk