Following the tragic death of her husband Derek Draper last year, Good Morning Britain host Kate Garraway admits she’s been in ‘shock’ and still hasn’t processed her loss

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Kate Garraway finally undergoing grief therapy and admits she’s been in ‘shock’ until now(Image: ITV)

Good Morning Britain host Kate Garraway has revealed she is finally planning to go to grief counselling after the tragic death of her husband Derek Draper. The mum-of-two became a single mother in 2024, when her husband went into cardiac arrest following a four-year health battle after he caught Covid at the start of the pandemic.

The former political advisor was put into a coma in April 2020 and didn’t regain consciousness until the October of the same year. Although he was Covid-free by June, the damage the virus had done to his body was significant.

It left him needing 24-hour care, and after more than a year in hospital, he still hadn’t regained his speech. In July 2022, he was admitted to hospital again, with his condition worsening.

Kate announced her husband’s death in January 2024, and since then has worked on rebuilding her life with their two children, Darcey, 19, and Billy, 16. Looking forward, she admits she’s “been in shock” and has been pouring herself into her kids and her career, describing her Celebrity Traitors experience as a “deliberate reset moment.”

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Kate made a documentary about her husband, Derek’s Story, following his illness(Image: ITV)

It’s even made her realise that grief therapy would be helpful for her. Kate told the Sun: “But I’ve realised I’m not allowing myself to process.”

Thinking about moving on with someone else, she says she doesn’t feel like she could spend the rest of her life “without love”. But at the moment, she feels that being with anyone other than Derek feels “preposterous.”

She added: “What Derek and I loved was our home life and just pottering around, and we had 21 years of that, so mentally I am still in that zone. However, I do realise that, when the time is right, I am not going to meet someone in my living room, so I’m going to have to think about the future at some point.”

But she’s taking it one step at a time, hoping to start socialising more again first. Although dating apps are completely off the cards for Kate, she thinks that meeting someone “organically” when the time is right is a possibility.

Kate and Derek shared two children, Darcey and Billy(Image: @kategarraway/Instagram)

Kate is still trying to process the tragic loss of her husband(Image: Getty Images for the NTA’s)

Kate recently marked another huge milestone without her husband by her side, when she dropped her son off at his new sixth form. She mused on an Instagram video: “What is it about kids, they never change do they? They manage to break your heart in a million different ways.”

Captioning the video, Kate penned: “First day at new school – never gets easier does it & I’m talking about for us parents here ! Have had so many #carpicnics in Vickie Volvo , trying to pretend am not there but still being there ‘just in case’ – gets me every time.

“Good luck to anyone else going through or having first days anywhere – and here’s to a #hometime with a ‘what were you worried about I was never worried’ teen shrug off and a ‘please don’t come tomorrow – don’t need you’ – the rejection we parents know means all is ok!!! Love to everyone and see you in a bit with a brew on @smoothradio @volvocars.”