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Kate Garraway celebrated her 57th birthday on Saturday but was twinged with sadness as it was her first one without husband Derek Draper.
Earlier this year, the ITV presenter announced the death of her husband aged 56, following a lengthy and difficult battle with complications related to Covid.
She has been facing lots of firsts as she plans a family holiday without him but revealed her birthday was ‘so sad’ despite being surrounded by family.
When she appeared on Good Morning Britain, Kate addressed her birthday, with a slight sad twinge she said she was just ‘happy to be alive’ after a horrific few years.
Her co-stars showered her with well wishes to cheer her up as Ed Balls said she was looking well in her bright yellow floral dress.
Kate appeared cheerful for the show but her Instagram post told a different story as she shared she almost ‘cried all day’ missing her late husband.
Kate Garraway celebrates her 57th birthday without Derek Draper (Picture: kategarraway/Instagram)
Her husband died earlier this year (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)
Kate said the day was ‘so sad’ but she tried stay upbeat (Picture: ITV)
‘Well yesterday was another one of those sad 1st’s – my first birthday 🎂 since Derek’s passing,’ the star captioned a video of her family singing happy birthday to her.
Kate continued: ‘Woke up feeling so sad & thought well I can either cry all day or celebrate life as he did so well. And thanks to wonderful friends it worked!
‘See you on @gmb tomorrow from 6 – happy bank holiday weekend everyone!’
Draper had died in January after a severe case of long Covid left him comatose for two months with numerous health conditions.
She enjoyed the sunshine as she had cake with her family (Picture: kategarraway/Instagram)
Kate said she missed Draper (Picture: kategarraway/Instagram)
The virus badly damaged his internal organs, which resulted in him being admitted to hospital frequently after his initial illness escalated.
An intimate documentary, titled Finding Derek, looked at how his family – Kate, and their two children Darcey, 18, and Billy, 14 – cared for him and looked after him.
The children and their mum are now looking to go on holiday for the first time with their ‘new’ family dynamic.
Ed Balls and GMB co-stars wished her happy birthday (Picture: ITV)
She is also planning her first holiday since his death with their children (Picture: PA)
‘We will get a family holiday. But it’s going to be a bit challenging because it’s a different kind of family set up that we have now,’ she told MailOnline. ‘But we will do something lovely.’
This holiday planning comes after Kate confessed Draper’s care put her in debt as it cost £16,000 per month, surpassing her paycheque from ITV.
She said at the time: ‘I am in debt. I can’t earn enough money to cover my debt because I am managing Derek’s care and I can’t even use the money I do have to support Derek’s recovery because it’s going on the basics all the time.’
Despite the hardships she is facing, Kate appeared to be bright and cheerful on the morning show amid her birthday celebrations.
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