Kate Garraway has candidly opened up on an “emotional” conversation she had with former husband Derek Draper.
The 56-year-olds were happily married when Draper fell ill with huge medical complications that arose after contracting coronavirus. Having first been hit in the early days of the pandemic, Draper suffered a series of complications that left his completely bedridden and unable to move.
As a result of the issues caused by the virus, Derek became the UK’s one patient that required the longest stint of care during the pandemic. The Good Morning Britain host bravely stepped in, taking on immense responsibility to look after her Derek, as well as taking care of the three children they have together.
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Draper tragically passed away late last year after suffering a cardiac arrest whilst receiving treatment at a clinic in Mexico. A distraught Kate immediately brought him home in a gruelling 11-hour flight, that despite keeping him alive until after Christmas, was an injury he could not recover from.
Throughout the course of his health battles, Kate has shown the public the raw side of caring for someone in two hard-hitting documentaries that put the trials and tribulations of being a carer on full display. Now, a third documentary of the pair’s journey – and Kate’s life post-Derek – is being made.
Reflecting on the pair’s ups and downs during the pandemic, Kate recalled in one instance how Derek was directly responsible for the final documentary. “Also, I remember so vividly that the idea of making this third documentary at all came from Derek himself – I hadn’t planned to make another one,” she admitted.
“At the beginning of January 2023, he’d been released from a four month spell in hospital for sepsis and we were very positive about his recovery. Derek was determined to keep on getting better and improving, but one day, we were sitting together while I was caring for him and he suddenly, from nowhere, asked, ‘Are we making another documentary?’
Garraway admitted to her husband that she had not really considered making another documentary, but Derek insisted on making it happen. Kate eventually gave her support, but stipulated: “I think we should work on it together and it should be your story, told in your voice.”
Draper was well behind the idea, but soon came to realise the power in him using his words to describe his experience. He soon became “emotional” as the pair described how to make the show work, as he wanted to make sure his version of events was accounted for.
“Derek got very emotional at the idea, because his words and speech were so limited and there were so many things he wanted to say about the struggle we were all having as a family and he wanted to speak up about it,” she recalled. “I asked Derek, ‘What would be your main message?’ And he said, ‘Never give up fighting for what you believe in and for the people you love.’”
Since Derek’s passing, Kate has taken it upon herself to finish making the documentary on her husband. After some tough times as part of the family, she returned to the ITV show as a reporter and news anchor in early 2024.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
