Devastated Kate Garraway may have to sell the £4million home where she nursed husband Derek Draper after his care ‘wiped her out financially’.
The TV presenter’s friends say she is ‘facing up to the fact’ she might have to put the North London house on the market because the care that long Covid victim Mr Draper needed was so expensive.
They say she spent thousands of pounds a week on carers to look after him before he died this month after suffering a cardiac arrest at the age of 56.
Ms Garraway also funded two trips to Mexico where her psychologist husband had pioneering treatment. She had to adapt the house for him and take time off work to help with his care.
The Good Morning Britain presenter, 56, suffered more financial hardship in 2022 when the couple’s psychotherapy company Astra Aspera shut with £184,000 debts.
The Good Morning Britain presenter has been ‘wiped out financially’ from the costs of caring for her husband Derek Draper, who died earlier this month
Derek Draper had been plagued with health woes after contracting coronavirus in March 2020, which saw him put in a coma, battle sepsis and left with difficulties communicating
Mr Draper, a former political adviser, contracted Covid at the start of the pandemic in March 2020 and was left with lasting damage to his organs
The closure landed her with a £716,000 tax bill. Another company, Praespero 100, saw its assets fall by £87,000 in 2022.
One friend said: ‘It is so sad for Kate. Not only has she had to watch her beloved husband suffer for almost four years but her financial worries have never been far away from her thoughts.
‘It has cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to look after Derek and do everything she could to get him better but it’s left her struggling. The house is about all she has left financially and she is now facing up to the fact it might have to be sold.
‘It’s where she and Derek were so happy and also where her two children grew up – but bills are bills and they have to be paid. It’s dreadful for Kate.’
Ms Garraway admitted last year: ‘It’s been tough financially.
‘As anyone with a loved one who is seriously ill knows, the costs go through the roof in so many ways. 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 it affects the overall income for the family, as he can no longer work.’
Mr Draper – a former political adviser – contracted Covid at the start of the pandemic in March 2020 and was left with lasting damage to his organs.
Doctors put him in a medically induced coma and he became the longest-suffering coronavirus patient in Britain after spending 13 months in hospital.
Ms Garraway and Mr Draper are pictured with her parents in July 2023 as she collected her MBE at Windsor Castle
Mr Draper suffered a heart attack in December and died in early January, surrounded by his family. Ms Garraway held his hand as he slipped away
Arriving at the National Television Awards in October 2007, it was clear to see how much the couple loved one another
He was readmitted several times with numerous health issues, including kidney failure, brain inflammation and liver damage. Mr Draper suffered a cardiac arrest before Christmas in Mexico. A friend said: ‘Unfortunately, despite the doctors in Mexico getting his heart beating again, Covid damage meant further complications ultimately affected his chance of recovery’.
The couple endured a traumatic 12-hour dash back to London, where Mr Draper was put in intensive care. He died on January 5, with Ms Garraway and children Darcy, 17, and Billy, 14, at his bedside.
Ms Garraway announced the death of her husband of 18 years on social media, saying: ‘Rest gently and peacefully now Derek, my love, I was so lucky to have you in my life.’