According to reports, the Good Morning Britain presenter and Liam Halligan have ‘grown close’, with Kate even going to watch his band The Hooligans play over the weekend
Kate Garraway couldn’t wipe the smile off her face when she was pictured leaving Smooth radio’s headquarters in London on Tuesday(Image: Perry Smylie/SOPA Images/Shutterstock)
Kate Garraway couldn’t wipe the smile off her face when she was pictured leaving Smooth radio’s headquarters in London on Tuesday, with friends supposedly “thrilled” that the star has found love again with broadcaster Liam Halligan two years after the death of her late husband, Derek Draper.
According to reports, the pair – who have known each other for more than 20 years – have ‘grown close’, with Kate even going to watch Liam’s band The Hooligans play over the weekend.
But while Kate’s budding new romance has been described as “complicated”, sources say the Good Morning Presenter is feeling optimistic about their future.
Kate with her late husband Derek(Image: Mirrorpix)
“It’s all very complicated, as you can imagine, for Kate who lost Derek not that long ago. She never thought she would be able to move on,” a source told Mail Online. “But now she can see something. She is being calm but she does hope that she might be skipping down the road holding his hand at some point in the near future.”
According to reports, the pair have “formed something really quite special” after spending time together alone and within their wider friendship group. Mr Halligan, 56, previously economics and business editor at GB News , is currently a columnist for The Sunday Telegraph. Separated from his partner, journalist Lucy Ward, the former couple have a son and two daughters, Maeve and Ailis, who play with him in his band.
Meanwhile, Kate shares two children, Darcey, 20, and Billie, 16 , with her late husband, who suffered a fatal cardiac arrest in January 2024. Derek had previously fell ill with Covid in March 2020, and went on to face a lengthy battle with the devastating organ damage it caused.
Insiders say Kate’s friends are “thrilled” by news of her new romance, especially as they’ve been encouraging her to date for a while.
Mr Halligan, previously economics and business editor at GB News, is currently a columnist for The Sunday Telegraph(Image: 2021 Quicksilver Media)
Last December, Kate confessed to Jamie Laing on his Good Company podcast that she felt ready for romance again , adding that she was looking for ‘any single dads’.
She said: “I wouldn’t like to think that I’d never had romantic love in my life again. I think that would be rather a sad way to go through life, wouldn’t it? But, no, I’m not there yet. I don’t know if anybody would want me.”
She then joked: “Talk to your mates, find out if any of their dads are single. That’s your task, Jamie.” But she also maintained that she wasn’t interested in finding love on dating apps , explaining, “I’m of the old school where you lived life, did things you loved and then met people along the way. But maybe that doesn’t happen any more.”
Those close to the Celebrity Traitors star say Liam “makes her laugh” and they have their jobs in common.
The source said: “Kate is a journalist and a very intelligent woman. They’ve just kind of clicked. Both are really chatty, they just talk and talk.
“Anyone who knows Kate will hope that her and Liam work out. She is still grieving, and will always love Derek so much, but she has found some happiness now and long may that continue.”
