GMB viewers moved to tears as elderly wife surprises husband by moving into his care home after Covid kept them apart

‘Betty and Kenneth have just made 2020’ one person says

Good Morning Britain (GMB) viewers were moved to tears after watching footage of the moment an elderly woman surprised her husband by moving into his care home.

On Thursday, hosts Susanna Reid and Ben Shephard shared the video which showed 91-year-old as Betty Meredith tell her husband, Kenneth, 96, that they would be together again after being separated due to the coronavirus crisis.

Kenneth moved into the Bourn View care home in Birmingham five weeks ago because he has dementia, but Betty could not bear to be without him.

In the clip, Kenneth can be seen walking through the door with his zimmer frame before bursting into tears as he sees his wife sitting at a table surrounded by heart-shaped balloons and red roses.

He steadily makes his way over to his wife, before holding out his arms to give Betty a hug.

Kenneth asked his wife if she had come to take him back home with her, to which she said: “I have come to live with you.”

The couple become visibly emotional as they cry together, with Kenneth saying: “Now I see you it’s better.”

(ITV/GMB)

Explaining the video to GMB viewers, Shephard said: “One wife has taken it into her own hands not just to visit but to change the situation completely.

”They had been living apart for months, Kenneth didn't know when he was going to see Betty again because of Covid-19. So Betty made the decision to move in to Bourn View with her husband so they could isolate together.

“Kenneth had no idea she was going to move in, he just thought it was a lovely romantic dinner and visit.”

Viewers watching the show shared their reactions on social media, with many saying the video brought them to tears.

“Betty & Kenneth have just made 2020,” one person wrote on Twitter, while another added: “Betty and Kenneth brought a tear to my eye. I’m so happy they can be together again.”

A third person commented: “I'm in bits” alongside a series of crying face emojis.

Last week, the government announced that visits to care homes will be allowed during England’s one month-long lockdown under strict Covid-secure measures, including communicating through windows and behind screens.

However, the Alzheimer’s Society said many families of people with dementia would be “devastated” by the plans, comparing the government’s proposed meetings behind screens to prison visits.

Chief executive officer Kate Lee warned: “This attempt to protect people will kill them. Distraught families will read this news and despair.”