EXCLUSIVE: Faced with mounting debts following the death of her husband Derek Draper, Good Morning Britain presenter Kate Garraway is feeling the strain, a source has revealed

Kate is facing more financial pressure(Image: ITV)

It’s been 18 months since Kate Garraway buried her husband of 19 years, Derek Draper, and sadly, a source says the Good Morning Britain star is still facing a “never-ending battle”. Kate, 58, has been adjusting to life as a single mum and sole provider for her and Derek’s two children, Darcey and Billy, following his death in January 2024 after a lengthy struggle against the devastating effects of a Covid infection.

The former political adviser and later, psychotherapist, who died at 56, required “round the clock care”, forcing the family to spend around £16,000 a month for his care, which Kate revealed was more than she made from GMB and other presenting work. The former I’m A Celeb star has faced an onslaught of unexpected bills since Derek’s death, including one linked to his now-defunct psychotherapy company Astra Aspera, which owed around £184,000 to creditors and HMRC.

Last week, amid reports she’s currently selling her and Derek’s second property in London to raise cash, financial reports also revealed her own company was facing losses of almost £300,000 for the last financial year. According to our source, Kate is working hard to get all her finances in order, even if it means making tough decisions, but understandably, finds it a lot to handle by herself at times.

Kate’s life changed dramatically following Derek’s Covid illness

“It feels like just as she sorts one payment out, another comes along,” they said. “She’s really going through it and wants to move on from all of the heartbreak of recent years, but it’s so hard. Finances are coming back to haunt her and she feels like there’s no way out. Dealing with grief, finances, work and the children is a lot, especially when it feels like it’s piling up.”

Accounts released last week by Kate’s company Praespero 100 Ltd for the period up to November 2024 showed a loss of £288,122, a jump from £165,011 the previous year.

The company is listed as covering radio broadcasting, television programming and broadcasting activities, and “management consultancy activities other than financial management” and Kate is the sole director.

While our source says Kate is more than capable of managing it in the long term, coping with complicated financial situations just adds to the stress of her grief.

Our source says Kate has remained strong for her and Derek’s children, Billy and Darcey(Image: Getty Images for the NTA’s)

Kate has been supported by friends, including fellow TV star Jenni Falconer(Image: GC Images)

“She’s an incredibly strong woman and nothing could be worse for her than losing Derek, but it would be lovely for her just to be free of all the financial stuff, so she can get on with her life,” they claim.

“It might not be the life she imagined, because Derek’s not in it, but she knows she has a lot of positive people and love around her, so she just wants to be able to breathe easy and know everything is taken care of.”

Kate has been incredibly open about the financial burden she faced due to Derek’s care, and revealed before his death that the family were paying out more than they were bringing in.

“Derek’s care costs more than my salary from ITV, and that is before you pay for a mortgage, before you pay any household bills, before you pay for anything for the kids, so we are at a crunch point,” she confessed on Kate Garraway: Derek’s Story, the moving ITV documentary she filmed before Derek’s death to highlight the plight of carers everywhere.

She returned to the GMB studio shortly after Derek’s funeral in early February 2024(Image: ITV)

“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.”

Derek was struck by the Covid-19 virus at the beginning of the pandemic, and was initially put into a medically-induced coma and spent months on a ventilator.

After being allowed to return to the family’s Muswell Hill home, Kate poured her efforts into adapting the house to fit Derek’s ongoing care needs.

The pricey changes included redesigning the entire ground floor of the property in order to make it wheelchair accessible and suitable for single-floor living, and installing a lift and wet room.

Kate and Derek were married for almost 20 years(Image: Mirrorpix/Daily Mirror)

The damage caused to Derek’s body by the virus resulted in numerous readmissions to hospital, before his final admission in early December 2023, following a heart attack.

The dad-of-two then spent Christmas in hospital, with Kate, Darcey and Billy keeping vigil until, heartbreakingly, he passed away on 3 January 2024.

A devastated Kate announced his death publicly a few weeks later, writing on her social media, “Sending so much love and thanks to all of you who have so generously given our family so much support. Rest gently and peacefully now Derek, my love, I was so lucky to have you in my life.”