Good Morning Britain host Kate Garraway, who has spoken previously about the cost of having cared for her late husband Derek Draper, is said to have sold a property
Broadcaster Kate Garraway is said to sold her second home after being left with “excessive unpayable debt” through caring for her late husband Derek Draper. She’s reportedly sold a property in London for £1.5 million recently.
Kate, 58, has previously spoken about the financial impact of having looked after Derek, who died, aged 56, last year. She’s said to have been facing a debt of up to £800,000 for his care and has reportedly been paying off debts related to his company Astra Aspera, which shut down in 2022.
It’s now been reported that Kate has sold her second home, which is said to be in North London. The news comes following speculation over her future on Good Morning Britain amid upcoming changes at ITV.
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According to the Sun, Kate had a property, which it described as a flat, in North London that recently sold for £1.5 million, but it’s said to have been “heavily mortgaged”. A source added that she had been keeping the property as a “financial safety net”.
The source told the outlet: “Kate takes paying off the debts very seriously and she’s always said she’d go to any lengths to achieve that. This is just part of that commitment, even if it does mean she’s had to lose the flat which she actually purchased years ago before meeting Derek and before they bought a family home together. Like many people, she was keeping it as a financial safety net which she thought she wouldn’t have to use so soon.”
The Daily Mail instead reports that the property, which it claims is in the process of being sold, was a three-bed townhouse in North London. It states that it had been up for rent for £6,750-a-month prior to going up for sale.
The Mirror understands that it was a house, rather than a flat, that has been on the market. We also understand that the property has already been sold.
There were concerns last year that Kate would have to sell the home she’s lived in with her two children. The Mail however suggests that this appears to have been avoided though by the apparent selling of her second home.
Derek died in January last year following health issues in recent years, including having been hospitalised for over a year during the Covid pandemic. Kate’s spoken about the cost of his care in the years since he was hospitalised.
In a documentary last year, for example, she said that it was “more than” her salary from ITV. She added: “Unlike the NHS, state-funded social care is only available to people with the highest needs and the lowest means.”
Earlier this year, whilst discussing the challenges she had faced, she said on Good Morning Britain: “One of the overriding ones until he went back into intensive care before he passed away, was dealing with the funding of care. At the time of his death, there were two appeals that hadn’t been heard for funding.
“It kept on getting pushed back and pushed back. In the meantime, and I’m lucky I’ve got an incredible job which is well paid, I was having to fund the situation. Now I’ve got excessive unpayable debt because of it, and if I’m in that position, what else are people going to be?”
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