Kate Garraway has spoken about the "reset moment" she had while filming The Celebrity Traitors, that made her consider grief counselling.
The presenter lost her husband, Derek Draper, in January 2024, after a battle with long Covid. Kate has since documented her life as a widowed mother to the couple's children, Darcey, 19, and Billy, 15, and the milestones the family have shared without Derek.
Recently, Kate has shared her thoughts on dating after Derek, and revealed the moments during her upcoming appearance on The Celebrity Traitors that caused her to consider grief counselling.
In conversation with Fabulous, Kate suggested that she began to reassess her feelings towards her grief during the many moments spent alone while filming the celebrity version of the reality show.
This enforced slowing down was the first step towards Kate recognising she was yet to process her grief after the loss of Derek. With phones and access to the outside world denied during filming, the time alone left plenty of time to think.
While being escorted around by a producer between takes, the producer shared a 'trick' with Kate that also helped her recognise her challenging feelings.
On Kate's birthday, the producer suggested she "write down everything I want for the next chapter of my life, and talk about Derek."
"So I did," she said, adding, "And then we burned it. It was quite hippy-dippy, but there was not a chance in hell I would have done that at home. When do I ever have three hours to do something like that?" Kate shares.
When filming had finished on the show, Kate realised she was struggling to feel like herself. Reflecting on what she was feeling, Kate had a realisation.
"The whole experience really affected me," she said, adding, "When I came out, I felt like my hard drive had been wiped. It took quite a few weeks for me to get back to myself or even contact people from the castle, because it felt like, 'Wow, this was massive.'"
Kate recognised it could be time to seek grief counselling. "I’ve been in shock and focusing on the children and everything else. But I’ve realised I’m not allowing myself to process," she continued.
When the star was initially asked if it was too early to return to work in the wake of Derek's death, she replied, "Life has to start. We have to pick ourselves up and go on. That's what Derek would want me to do."
Her focus has always been on her children, and she's previously been vocal about how they've been supported through their father's passing and their different stages of grief.
However, "the chunk of time" Kate had to herself during her time in The Celebrity Traitors castle appears to be just what the presenter needed to consider her own feelings and how to navigate them moving forward.
