TV presenter Kate Garraway has admitted she’s struggling with the torture of home-schooling her two children.
The star, 53, whose husband Derek Draper, who has been in hospital for ten months now after contracting coronavirus, spoke about schools being closed amid the pandemic on Good Morning Britain on Friday.
Kate, who is mother to Darcey, 14, and Billy, 11, said: ‘We have made it to Friday, a collective sign of relief to anybody who is locked into the torture of home schooling.
‘This time round it’s a real struggle’: Kate Garraway admitted on GMB on Friday that home schooling her two children Darcey, 14, and Billy, 11, is torture after schools closed
‘First time round, I was somewhat distracted at the time, and a lot of people felt quite nice, the sun was shining, we thought, “Great, time with the children, let’s see what those teachers are doing”.
‘And very quickly realised how brilliant teachers are, and this time around it’s a really struggle isn’t it?’
Ben Shephard, 46, agreed and said: ‘I think it’s really hard this time because of the weather particularly, and the kids want to just get back to school and be with their friends.’
Love: Kate’s children have had a tough time because their father Derek Draper remains in hospital after contracting coronavirus in March (pictured in 2018)
Kate said: ‘They want to see other kids don’t they, and it feels like here we go again.’
While Derek no longer has coronavirus, the disease has left him suffering from multiple health conditions including diabetes and holes in his heart and lungs.
He has regained minimal consciousness from his medically induced coma and while he has not been speaking, he heartbreakingly mouthed the word ‘pain’ recently.
Kate’s children finally got to visit their father in hospital after 10 months recovering from COVID-19.
Kate said of her children: ‘They want to see other kids don’t they, and it feels like here we go again.’
She admitted the family reunion was ‘heightened with emotion’ because her children saw how Derek was ‘very changed’ by his battle with the virus.
Kate also revealed that due to the government’s new lockdown she’s now banned from visiting her husband, saying she hopes it won’t continue as her absence could be ‘very impactful’ on Derek’s slow recovery.
She recently reflecting on her first Christmas without Derek, telling Ben: ‘It was tough. I knew it was going to be tough. ‘There was a lovely moment which we did have.
At last: Kate recently has revealed her two children finally got to visit their father Derek in hospital after 10 months recovering from COVID-19
‘We did get to see Derek and the children did, which is the first time they’ve been able to do that. So that was amazing.’
Kate admitted it came as a shock to her two children seeing Derek for the first time in almost 10 months, as he looked very different to when he was first admitted.
She continued: ‘It was very heightened with emotion, because he’s very changed.
‘So all the routines that we’d normally do, it was one of those moments that it was so wonderful but also it amplified how sad everything was. And how different it is.
‘But it was still fantastic, and we’re very grateful to have had that opportunity.’
Difficult: The presenter admitted the reunion was ‘heightened with emotion’ as her daughter Darcey, 14, and son Billy, 11, saw how Derek was ‘very changed’ by his battle with the virus (pictured in December 2019)
Kate went onto reveal she’s now unable to see Derek due to new restrictions introduced during the third lockdown, which bans any visitors on the COVID-19 ward where he is recovering.
She told Ben: ‘And then instantly, now I’m in a position where even I can’t visit.
‘We’re into lockdown so no visits at all, which I hope doesn’t continue for the whole of lockdown, because I think that will be very impactful on Derek’s state.’
Tough: Kate went onto reveal she’s now unable to see Derek due to new restrictions introduced during the third lockdown
Concerned: She said: ”We’re into lockdown so no visits at all, which I hope doesn’t continue for the whole of lockdown, because I think that will be very impactful on Derek’s state’
While Derek continues to recover away from home, Kate said she has been trying to be ‘both mum and dad’ to their two children.
The family had been unable to visit Derek in hospital due to coronavirus restrictions, but the mother-of-two previously said that nurses kindly allowed her to FaceTime him.
On New Year’s Eve, Kate admitted she had a ‘calamitous’ Christmas without her husband during which her house was flooded and she was unable to get a supermarket delivery slot.
Wishing her followers a Happy New Year, Kate wrote on it was ‘the last day of a year few will be sorry to see the back of.’
Scary: Kate returned to Good Morning Britain following her festive break, after admitting on New Year’s Eve she’d had a ‘calamitous’ Christmas
Not very festive: Writing alongside a photo of her Christmas tree in an Instagram post, the mother of two reflected on spending the festive season without Derek
Explaining her absence from social media, she continued: ‘Have been quiet for a while – getting through Christmas has been a challenge hasn’t it with all the emotions it stirs in our strange world & no where really to put them – except in hope.’
‘And there is still so much real hope out there. Not just in the extraordinary health care workers & researchers who definitely hold a bright light for the future. But in all the little kindnesses.’
‘We had a calamitous few days in the run up to Christmas – but we got through thanks to some wonderful people,’ she explained.
Kate went on to thank those who had helped her and her family.
‘The guys from @bondconstruction who literally got on their hands & knees with me to bucket out water after we had 2 pipe leaks that flooded our home,’ she wrote.
Kate also thanked fellow TV presenter and friend Emma Willis and Marks and Spencer ‘who made sure we had #gorgeousfood for our Christmas dinner when I couldn’t get a delivery slot anywhere & the guys from @britishgas who spent hours on the phone helping me to get a fridge & freezer to put the food in.’
After previously revealing her WiFi had broken in the run up to Christmas, Kate wrote that Sky had finally helped her fix the problem.
‘The guys from @skyhelp who talked me through getting our WiFi & tv working on Xmas eve. Your kindness & spirit is overwhelming . And all @itv & @global for their constant support.
‘Sending love & virtual hugs to all of you who have sent messages – spreading the love is what will give us all a truly happy new year,’ the star ended her reflective post.
Slowly: Derek remains in critical condition but has made minor improvements since he was first admitted to hospital in March (he is pictured with Kate in December 2019)
The star had also admitted she felt ‘physically sick’ at the prospect of spending her first Christmas without Derek since their eldest daughter Darcey was born.
‘I feel physically sick actually and can feel my chest tightening at the thought of it,’ Kate said.
‘I’m in total panic about the idea of me, Darcey and Billy on our own this Christmas unable to visit Derek because of potential restrictions.
‘That huge emotional hole, and I don’t know how to fill it, without grandparents and without friends helping to fill it.
‘It feels like such a significant moment as all festivals are. I do feel in a panic about it, but we’re in this situation because of the spread of a disease that at the moment doesn’t have a cure.’