Kate Garraway has shared a candid message about her life caring for her husband Derek Draper in a social media post on World Mental Health Day. The Good Morning Britain star shared a video of her speaking to the camera on Instagram on Monday (October 10).
As many people know, Derek had been suffering long-term effects ever since contracting coronavirus in 2020. The former political advisor is believed to be the worst-affected living Covid patient in the UK after spending 13 months in hospital between March 2020 and April 2021.
The dad-of-two returned home and receives round-the-clock care but has been unable to fully communicate, has issues with mobility, and has struggled with major health problems. And since Derek became ill, Kate has balanced work and family commitments - looking after their two children Darcey, 16, and Billy, 12.
Kate's piece to camera came ahead of the National Television Awards on Thursday. She explained that she had felt "bad" for "asking for more" from the public as she is nominated for a gong at the upcoming TV bash. "So I haven't chatted to you all for a while and I haven't talked at all about the fantastic nomination which I am so grateful for, for Caring for Derek the documentary for a National Television Award," she said.
"I am so grateful to everyone who's voted to get it this far and chuffed to bits. But the reason I haven't spoken to you about it is because I felt sort of conflicted because I feel as though I have had a lot of support from friends and family and from all of you. And I just felt bad in a way for asking for more. But then several carers charities have been in touch with me and said 'no you must.'"
She added: "Because the reason we made the documentary was to highlight the position of carers, professional carers and carers who are doing it for love because, like me, they suddenly find a member of their family needs care, and the tough challenges that that involves. As much as you don't begrudge doing it, it's very very hard."
In her video, Kate also said: "Today is mental health awareness day and in the documentary, you saw me frustrated, depressed, emotional. And I've been all of those and more in recent weeks and months and more. Because that's the thing with caring, you want it to carry on because you want the person to be surviving and still with you, so that you CAN care for them, but there isn't an endpoint and it doesn't get any easier."
She captioned the post: "Hello everyone - thank you for voting for our documentary 'Caring for Derek' - am so chuffed it's been nominated for an #NTAAWARD this Thursday. We made the film to highlight the challenges and rewards of being a carer, but since then things haven't got any easier either for Derek and I, nor for the millions of other carers right across the UK'.
"@carersfirst have done some research & the economic crisis has left many feeling suicidal , hundreds of thousands with mental health issues & more than 93 percent say they can't sleep because they are so terrified about the future'.
"On #worldmentalhealthday I have been thinking about what so many are going through. If you haven't seen #caringforderek it is still on the @itv hub . And if you feel moved to vote, then the link is in my bio - carers and anyone with a long term illness would feel so grateful not to be forgotten."
It comes after Kate appeared to give an update on her husband during the latest episode of ITV's DNA Journey which saw her discover her family history alongside Alison Hammond. She said: "2020 was a devastating year. With Derek, he got very sick very early on in the pandemic and has remained very damaged. That is quite well documented because for a lot of people, he's come to symbolise the fight that goes on."
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