Exclusive: Kate Garraway reveals the one wish her late husband Derek had for her and children
The last five years haven't been kind to Kate Garraway. And yet the Good Morning Britain presenter says this year she is determined to "grab life with both hands and squeeze out as much joy as possible", for herself and for her two children.
"I can begin to see a new positivity for the three of us – I am hoping," she says cautiously. "Where we don't look back and remember: ‘This time last year we were doing this or that with Dad…' but focus on the future."
"Derek would want me to be grabbing life, because you learn how fast, and how easily, it can be snatched away," she adds. "I know he'd be saying: ‘You've got to get out and live, because I can't.'"
Her beloved husband Derek Draper, a former political advisor turned psychotherapist, died in January 2024 after a Covid infection in 2020 had left him incapacitated and in need of round-the-clock care. Kate, who would have celebrated her 20th wedding anniversary with him this year, and their children Darcey, now 18, and Billy, 15, went into a "holding pattern of shock", from which, she feels, they are slowly emerging.
After the first Christmas without him, they filled their house with friends – including a group of teenagers when daughter Darcey threw a party. "Teenage parties – always a moment of terror for a mother," says Kate, grimacing.
"But, seizing all the good and new that life throws at you alongside the sad is what I am focusing on and trying to model for Darcey and Billy, too."
Kate began to tentatively start exploring the world again last spring, when an opportunity to host a new podcast and YouTube series about Dubai, DXB Unheard, was presented to her. For three weeks she travelled between the UK and the United Arab Emirates, moving from "looking inward all the time, as the nature of care means you have to" to broadening her horizons and experiencing the freedom that travel can bring.
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"It was so completely different – even down to the heat. It took me out of myself," she says. "I was a facilitator of other people's stories, helping them share their joy rather than focusing on myself. It's made me think that I want to do more travel for those reasons."
It’s come at a time when she has more freedom: Darcey is away at university and Billy won’t be far behind. “It’s sad in a way, because it’s a time that Derek and I always said we’d travel together and do more grown-up things,” she says. “We used to love travelling and holidays.”
Now Kate feels able to navigate her deep sadness while looking to the future and "the adventure of it", she says. "Life has been very timetabled for the last five years, taking care of Derek. I'm thinking: ‘Well, I don't know what's next,' but rather than be terrified, try to enjoy it."
