Brave Kate Garraway still gets very lonely even with husband Derek back by her side but says the couple have found a new way to be in love.
The Life Stories host says Derek is now starting to accept he can get better and that there is genuine hope for the future.
Kate says she still feels so lucky even if they both know the political lobbyist turned psychotherapist may never fully recover.
Almost two years on from when Derek entered hospital for a 13 month stay, they now have a new way of understanding each other.
In March 2020 he was struck down with Covid-19 and hospitalised. Doctors made the decision to put him into an induced coma and he didn't return home for more than a year.
Kate told You Magazine that she still feels very alone at times but revealed that at last Derek is coming round to the idea that his condition could improve.
She said: "It’s very lonely. It’s very lonely in a very crowded space. It’s hard to admit that, but it’s true.
"But now I think he believes he can get better, but until we know how, it’s challenging - there are very hard days and nights, but, yeah, I’ve got a lot of hope."
She added: “I’m not sure that we’ve ever fallen out of love, but I think a new path is emerging, a new way to be in love."
Although she says her husband is often ‘lost and confused’, she is buoyed by what she calls flashes of his former self.
The 54-year-old won a National Television Award last year for Finding Derek, a moving documentary that brought to life her torture during his 13-month hospital stay.
Now she will be recording a second show about Derek's brutal health battle.
ITV has now confirmed the broadcaster will be making a second instalment about their ongoing ordeal.
She said late last year: "We are going to make another documentary — there are plans for more."
"Derek has a very short window of energy, but we are trying. He has been home for four months now and it was enough for him being home.
"Now we are really hoping we can have more and more people in to see him."
At the beginning of this year, Kate was gobsmacked to be awarded an MBE by The Queen in her annual New Year Honours list.
