Kate Garraway has said she has been “consumed by fear” as her husband Derek Draper struggles to recover from coronavirus, adding that “the heart of the family has been ripped out”.
Former lobbyist and political adviser Draper, 53, was taken to hospital on March 29 after struggling to breathe, with doctors eventually putting him in an induced coma on April 5.
While he no longer has Covid-19, he still remains seriously ill in an induced coma in hospital.
The Good Morning Britain star told Mail On Sunday’s You magazine: “We hope and believe he will come out of it, but we just don’t know.
“The heart of the family has been ripped out and we don’t know if we will ever get it back.”
Garraway said it was a shock the first time she saw him over a video call, adding: “He’s lost nearly eight stone in weight, a lot of it muscle throughout his body.
“He looked worn-out, thin and pale with dark circles under his eyes and there were lots of tubes.”
The couple, who share daughter Darcey and son Billy, were due to renew their vows on their wedding anniversary on Thursday, after Draper proposed again after Garraway left the I’m A Celebrity jungle last December.
She said: “I felt I saw everything in a new light [after the jungle].
“I’d always known family and friends and love were the most important thing, but after the jungle that brought it into focus even more.
“Darcey was very excited: she was planning a second wedding – God knows what she’d have had me wearing. But now that won’t be happening and our anniversary will be very strange.”
Garraway said she has had to keep things together for the sake of her children, adding: “There’s been more than the odd day when I’ve just been consumed with fear.
“But as a mum you can’t go to bed and cry for 24 hours. Children don’t choose when they’re going to be upset; you say: ‘It’s 9pm, I’m going to bed, I’ve got to be up at 2am for work,’ and that’s when they suddenly want to talk about Dad, so of course you just have to say, ‘OK, let’s talk about it.’”
The TV star stressed she will not give up believing he can recover, saying: “What you have to keep thinking is there were so many moments when doctors thought we’d lost Derek or were about to, and he’s still here. There is still hope.”
It has also been confirmed that Garraway will return to present her show on Smooth Radio from September 14.
Since her leave of absence earlier this year, Myleene Klass has been hosting her show on Monday from 10am to 1pm.
Klass will now return to her usual Saturday afternoon show from 4pm to 7pm.
Garraway said in a statement: “I’m delighted to be returning to my morning show on Smooth and to my Global family who have been a big support to me.
“Things are still hugely challenging and a long way from being normal, but I’d like to think that this will give Derek yet another opportunity to hear my voice as well as many of the songs we both love.
“My heartfelt thanks go to Myleene Klass who has been brilliantly caretaking the show for me and to all my regular listeners for their messages of support. I can’t imagine there’s a more relaxing job to return to and I’m really looking forward to getting back into the studio.”