Kate Garraway has opened up about being at the 'beginning of her grief' as she navigates life after the loss of her beloved husband, Derek Draper.
The 57 year old Good Morning Britain star has been sharing her heartache with the public since Derek, a former political adviser turned psychologist and author, passed away in January. He had faced a long and gruelling battle with health complications stemming from Covid-19 since 2020.
The couple's children, Darcey, 18, and Billy, 14, have shown immense courage throughout their father's illness, with Darcey even taking on the role of pallbearer at his funeral.
Despite returning to work shortly after saying goodbye to Derek, Kate has understandably taken time off from her presenting duties here and there. Speaking to The Mirror, Kate shared her anticipation for the upcoming Prince's Trust Awards, an event she's been looking forward to attending months after her husband's passing.
"I'm very excited. It's going to be a beautiful event, it always is. Everybody here is amazing," Kate remarked. "I'm only at the beginning of grief really. I'm just three months in so there are many ups and downs to come. At the moment it's about focusing on the youngsters, Billy and Darcy and focusing on doing things like this when I can that I haven't been able to do.
"And at the moment it's all about keeping busy. I'm sure there will be a moment where I have to stop and deal with it. But at the moment I'm just keeping busy. Help is there. You just have to ask for it. And sometimes you have to ask for it time and time again. And hopefully, organisations like the Prince's Trust which is particularly good at identifying people, will be there to scoop you up."
She continued by highlighting the significance of community support: "Community is everything, whether it's friends or colleagues, or your neighbours down your street. It keeps us going. It's the structure that carries us through life."
Kate has previously been open about her financial challenges while caring for Derek. The GMB star revealed she had to access funds from her pension earlier than expected to manage escalating expenses.
Kate confessed: "I have had to withdraw the bit you can tax-free from my pension to pay for belated bills for my husband, who has now passed away. People are having to do things - it wasn't a huge pension in the first place - which aren't what they saved for."
