Good Morning Britain star Kate has admitted she is struggling with “a bit of gloom” following the one year anniversary of the death of her husband Derek Draper
Kate Garraway has shared her feelings of “gloom” in an Instagram post, a few days after the first anniversary of her husband Derek Draper’s death.
The GMB presenter posted a pretty photo of a frosty window to Instagram on Saturday 11 January, and wrote alongside it: “Boy it’s cold out there – very beautiful though. Trying to shift a bit of gloom by cracking on today with lots of jobs have been putting off and soaking up the beauty of nature while I do it!”
Many of her followers were quick to send the star their best wishes. One wrote: “A difficult time for you and your family. Do whatever brings you comfort. Love and hugs to you all,” while a second said: “Beautiful pic and great advice Kate… one foot in front of the other and being kind to yourself too at this time of year is key.” A third commented: “I just want to say you’re so blooming strong and a beacon of light to others. Such an amazing lady. Sending love and light. Have an amazing day,” while another added: “One of those days – it will pass and all will be well. But go with it and feel how you do, you are allowed that too!”
Kate’s late husband Derek died at the age of 56 in January 2024 following hospitalisation and a long battle with Covid, and she has recently spoken out about the “excessive unpayable debt” she has as a result of funding his care. In a documentary in 2024 she revealed Derek’s care costs were more than her salary from ITV and said: “Unlike the NHS, state-funded social care is only available to people with the highest needs and the lowest means.”
On Friday 3 January on GMB, Kate questioned Wes Streeting, who is the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, on proposals for the long-term funding of adult social care in England being unlikely to be delivered before 2028. She noted in the exchange that it was the first anniversary of Derek’s death on the same day as the interview.
She told Mr Streeting: “I’m going to be honest. In my mind, I’m thinking about the situation with Derek. It actually happens to be the anniversary of his death, one-year anniversary of his death, today, which is a day only relevant to me, but over the last few weeks, the family and I have been talking about the challenges we faced this time last year.
“And 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? People can’t afford four more years of this.”
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