Kate Garraway says she feels guilty for having fun while husband remains in ‘minimally conscious’ state

‘I’m lucky that I’ve got the chance to wait, because he’s still with us and lots of people haven’t got that’, TV host says

Kate Garraway has admitted to feeling guilty for having fun while her husband Derek Draper remains in hospital.

The Good Morning Britain presenter’s partner has been in hospital since March, when he was placed in an induced coma after contracting the coronavirus.

Speaking on today’s episode of the breakfast show with co-host Adil Ray, Garraway said that while she is trying to remain upbeat, she has found that experiencing moments of joy has left her feeling guilty.

“He’s very much still with us. There seems to be different challenges every week. I feel conscious of not [talking about it],” she said.

“I know everybody’s been so lovely, and is really concerned for him, and it’s difficult isn’t it? Because there’s certainly people out there with people that are sick, that you don’t want to talk about it on Good Morning Britain all the time, because then not cheering up everybody that’s trying to cope with Covid.”

She continued: “On the other hand, last week when we were having fun and games, you feel almost bad because you think, oh, ‘I’m laughing and he’s still there in a kind of minimally conscious state’, and it’s a difficult balance.”

The presenter added that while her husband has shown signs of improvement there are still a lot of difficulties ahead.

“The nurses are putting the show on the morning for him, in the hope that that might trigger something, but it’s a waiting game, really,” Garraway said.

(ITV/Good Morning Britain)

“But at least I’m lucky that I’ve got the chance to wait, because he’s still with us and lots of people haven’t got that.”

Ray assured his co-host that speaking so openly about her family’s experience with coronavirus has been helpful to other people.

(Rex)

“You are truly inspiring and you say there about you were laughing last week and having a few laughs today but it's important to have that, you have kids and you've got to have hope and get on with things,” he said.

Garraway replied that she is trying to “keep life going” to make sure Draper has “a life to come back to”.

Last month, Garraway revealed that Draper was no longer in a coma.

However, his battle with Covid-19 is said to have severely impacted his body including leaving holes in his heart and damaged lungs.

Speaking to Hello! magazine, the presenter said: “I really believe he can hear. When medical staff say: ‘Good morning, Derek’, he sometimes opens his eyes.

“We and the doctors are doing everything we can so that he can start to recover.”