Derek and I have found a new way to be in love, says Kate Garraway
KATE GARRAWAY says she has found ‘a new way to be in love’ with husband Derek Draper as he continues his slow recovery from the ravages of coronavirus.
In an interview with today’s You magazine, the TV star admits her relationship with the political lobbyist turned psychotherapist has changed since he was struck down by the virus in March 2020.
‘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,’ says the Good Morning Britain presenter.
‘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? That’s a positive thing to come out of this, to have that certainty of each other. He and I are very close.’
Kate, 54, 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, much of it in an induced coma.
It also revealed how Derek, who is still battling serious health problems, sometimes felt suicidal. ‘I still sense that in him,’ says Kate. ‘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.’
A follow-up documentary is planned and, as The Mail on Sunday revealed in December, Derek, 54, summoned the strength to make an emotional trip to the theatre with Kate and their children, Darcey, 15, and Billy, 12.
‘That was wonderful, for Derek to be able to sit there and be with his children,’ says Kate, who is replacing Piers Morgan as the host of ITV’s Life Stories. ‘He would whisper to me in the run-up, “Is it pantomime today?”
‘So he was definitely aware of it and really determined to do it. It was fortunately not too long a show, but it still wiped him out for Christmas in terms of energy levels, but there’s a balance between keeping him healthy and pushing to have new stimulation.’
She remains positive for the future. ‘Derek is here with us, we’re still working our way through the process of understanding how he’s doing and what to do about it and where we go next,’ she says.
‘So it is very difficult, there are very hard days and nights, but, yeah, I’ve got a lot of hope.’