Kate Garraway’s friends ‘have a rota to look after her’ after Derek Draper’s death-Danni Scott-Entertainment – Metro

Kate Garraway’s friends are staying by her side after Derek Draper’s death (Picture: James Gourley/ITV/Shutterstock)

Kate Garraway’s friends have rallied around her in the wake of her husband Derek Draper’s death after four years of Covid complications.

The Good Morning Britain presenter, who has taken a step back from her duties, announced her husband had died at the age of 56 on January 5.

Draper had spent Christmas and New Year in the hospital, with Garraway and their children by his side the whole time, holding his hand in his final moments.

Since announcing the devastating loss on her Instagram, the 56-year-old hasn’t spoken out but her friend has shared they are keeping a watchful eye on her.

‘She’s devastated, she’s broken,’ Clare Nasir told Closer Magazine. ‘She’s going from moments of real reflectiveness to moments where she’s just crying because she’s been fighting for the right for Draper to live for four years now.’

Garraway was married to Draper for almost 20 years but he was left ‘fighting for his life’ following a ‘massive heart attack’ last month after his extreme and rare case of long Covid.

Draper’s health deteriorated over four years after getting Covid (Picture: Andrew Matthews – Pool/Getty Images)

Garraway was married to Draper for 20 years (Picture: Alan Davidson/Shutterstock)

Clare shared: ‘We’re tag-teaming, my friends and I are on a rota to be with her. The other weekend there was a lot of making tea and cooking.

‘We managed to play a couple of little games with the kids to add a little light. Garraway waxed and waned – It’s just so sad to see, she’s just broken.’

Draper is thought to have been Britain’s longest-suffering Coronavirus victim after contracting the disease in March 2020.

After falling into a coma and being put on a ventilator, he spent 13 months in hospital before suffering from a series of health conditions as the virus caused brain inflammation, kidney failure, and liver and pancreas damage.

Garraway has been away from the public eye grieving (Picture: ITV/REX)

Just weeks before, Garraway spoke about ‘adjusting to a new normal’ as her husband received more ‘treatment’.

Speaking to OK!, she shared: ‘Derek’s in hospital having some treatment. It’s not an emergency thing, it’s not a dramatic rush back into intensive care, thank goodness. It’s something that started last year that we hope will lead to improvement.

‘I’ve managed to get it in before the end of the year. It’s something we were trying to do in the summer, but there are referrals and time and all of those things.’

Draper was thought to have the most severe long Covid symptoms (Picture: ITV/REX)

Together they have two children (Picture: Alan Davidson/Shutterstock)

In early December, the presenter was reportedly informed that Draper had suffered a cardiac arrest while she was travelling on a connecting flight inside Mexico.

‘It’s been an unbelievably gruelling eight weeks for Garraway, and how she is still going is quite remarkable,’ a source told The Sun on Sunday.

The insider claimed that after the couple first went to Mexico the month before, his ‘treatment went incredibly well, and his doctor and all the consultants were hugely optimistic about his long-term progress, and future’.

Garraway was reportedly considering selling her £4million family home, where they lived with Darcey, 17, and Billy, 14, after the financial stress of caring for her late husband.

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