Kate Garraway ‘trying to keep head above water’ after husband Derek Draper’s death
The GMB host spoke about her mental state as she marked first birthday without husband (Picture: ITV/Shutterstock)
Broadcaster Kate Garraway shared a heartfelt message with her followers as she celebrated her first birthday since husband Derek Draper died.
The ITV presenter, who turned 57 on May 4, took to Instagram on Friday to thank family and friends for their birthday well wishes.
Garrway’s late husband Draper, an author and political lobbyist, died aged 56 from a cardiac arrest earlier this year. The father-of-two suffered multiple health complications after contracting Covid-19 in 2020.
The Good Morning Britain host paid tribute to her husband and her family’s experience caring for him in his final year in an intimate three-part ITV documentary for which she won a National Television Award.
Since his death on January 3, Garraway – who shared 18-year-old daughter Darcey and 11-year-old son Billy with Draper – has been candid about her grieving process and now she has opened up further in a series of birthday posts.
After thanking her parents for buying her a wheelbarrow she said: ‘You know my garden is my #happyplace but have been feeling overwhelmed recently as it’s got so out of control as have just been racing around trying to keep head above water.’
The 57-year-old is keeping spirits high with her gardening (Picture: Instagram/Kate Garraway)
Garraway with her late husband and parents who she thanks for support (Picture: Getty)
She added she ‘couldn’t be happier’ with the present and that her parents ‘always know the best way to get me out there & going forward’. Her fans shared their love in the comments.
‘Gardening is my therapy too! We all need a wheelbarrow,’ @cheryl_whitworth wrote.
‘Best thing for the soul and calmness. It also gets you thinking ahead as you want to see everything bloom,’ @mcdonoughbarbara added.
‘Kate, you are the most amazing woman and an inspiration to us all. Enjoy your wheelbarrow,’ @brooketrish said.
Garraway’s poignant words came alongside several other posts sharing various presents she has received.
GMB makeup artist Lisa Mejuto gifted her an embroidered collar filled with sentimental value.
She also thanked her friend for their beautiful collar (Picture: Instagram / Kate Garraway)
The TV presenter celebrated her birthday earlier this month (Picture: Kate Garraway/Instagram)
‘Today when she gave me this out of the blue at four in the morning I burst into tears,’ Garraway wrote.
‘The hard work & effort – carefully hand sewing symbols that she knows mean so much – including Darcey, Bill [her children] & Derek’s initials, shows so much painstaking love. The picture really doesn’t do it justice.’
The day after her birthday, the 57-year-old TV personality took to social media to share ‘one of those sad 1st’s’.
She wrote: ‘Woke up feeling so sad & thought well I can either cry all day or celebrate life as he did so well,’ alongside a video of her friends and family singing happy birthday and blowing out candles on a cake.
In April, Garraway told MailOnline that she and the family were now planning their first holiday without him.
This is not the only first Garraway has tacked recently (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
‘We will get a family holiday. But it’s going to be a bit challenging because it’s a different kind of family set up that we have now,’ she said. ‘But we will do something lovely.’
Garraway has also been candid about the various financial struggles she has undergone since Draper’s passing.
Earlier this year she admitted she was in debt somewhere between £500,00 to £800,000 due to caring for Draper for so long.
This burden has been compounded after she closed Draper’s psychotherapy company Astra Aspera Ltd. According to reports, the company had £184,096.96 of debt when it closed and ultimately Garraway faced a £716,000 tax bill.
‘I am in debt. I can’t earn enough money to cover my debt because I am managing Derek’s care and I can’t even use the money I do have to support Derek’s recovery because it’s going on the basics all the time,’ she said earlier this year.
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