Kate Garraway has spoken out about the “difficult” costs of caring for her husband Derek Draper.
In March 2020, the former political advisor, 55, became gravely ill with Covid-19 and was confined in a coma to enable his body recover from the symptoms.
He was released from the hospital the next year, but his body had been severely damaged, including his heart and lungs.
The Good Morning Britain host, 55, has provided regular updates regarding Derek’s health as she continues to care for him while he suffers different long-term affects.
In 2021, Kate announced that she had modified their London house, where they reside with their children Darcey, 16, and Billy, 13, to accommodate Derek’s demands, including placing a hospital bed in their living room.
The broadcaster has now described the cost burden of Derek’s treatment as “difficult” and “over the sky.”
She told The Sun: ‘You have to make changes to your home and it affects your ability to work.
‘I had to take long periods off when Derek was first sick, and of course it affects the overall income for the family as he can no longer work.’
Kate also stated that there was a possibility that the couple had received’special treatment’ because of her work, but she stressed that they had not avoided any waiting lists.
‘We haven’t jumped any queues, which is just as it should be,’ she continued.
Kate confronted Matt Hancock on Good Morning Britain over his management of the epidemic and her feelings about his presence on I’m A Celebrity.
She said: ‘When you talk about the moment that you fell in love, and was seen – was caught – falling in love, and whether it was guidelines or legal, and you say that’s irrelevant, because you morally felt that you did wrong…
‘I suppose the problem is that because you were health secretary and because at that time I couldn’t visit Derek in hospital, he couldn’t see his kids, thousands of others couldn’t go and see the people they loved for various reasons because they were following the guidelines.’
Kate continued: ‘You made the decision to go in at a time before you’d answered to an inquiry, at a time when people still feel very raw. I’m not sure people yet feel comfortable about why you did it.’
Hancock replied: ‘I get all that, I really do, and I really feel it.
‘The reason it’s important, that I wrote the book in particular, with the inquiry coming out later, is I have to be completely open about what I did, why I took the decisions I did, so we can learn as much as possible. I feel really strongly about that.’