Kate Garraway “fears the reality” of giving up her job on Good Morning Britain in order to offer her husband Derek Draper 24-hour care.
The former political adviser, 53, remains in hospital after being admitted with coronavirus symptoms in March last year, before being placed in a coma.
TV host Garraway, also 53, suggested they would have a “completely different dynamic” in their marriage when he is able to leave hospital.
In the ITV documentary Finding Derek, she is seen renovating the ground floor of their family home so it is wheelchair accessible ahead of his possible return.
She tells their son Bill: “You know that we are hoping that dad will get better and better, but when he comes home he will probably need to be in a wheelchair, so we are trying to make it so he can do all this.
“And if I have to give up work to care for him then it is best to do it now when I am earning money.
“If he needs 24-hour care I will be the primary carer. I have a fear of the reality of that life. It is a completely different dynamic to our relationship.”
Garraway says Draper’s gradual recovery, which has seen him regain the ability to talk, “feels like a positive”.
She adds: “The only thing that panics me is that we are on such a rollercoaster with Derek that I am looking around during all this chaos and then the next minute there will be a phone call to say something has gone backwards.
“You think, ‘Gosh am I just fooling myself, I suppose?’”
Follow Kate’s incredibly personal journey as she supports husband, Derek, battling with long-Covid.
Kate Garraway: Finding Derek, Tuesday 23rd March at 9pm on ITV & @ITVHub #FindingDerek @GMB pic.twitter.com/Q6266Uf6oL
— ITV (@ITV) March 18, 2021
The documentary details their family’s experience during his illness and sees Garraway speaking to people suffering long Covid, NHS staff and other experts.
One scene sees her recall being told by Draper’s doctors that he was the most seriously ill person they had seen who remained alive.
“Derek is the sickest person the team of doctors in the lung hospital have treated that has lived,” she said.
“His kidneys have failed, his liver has failed, his heart is being supported with medicine.
“So the best way of coping with that is to think, ‘What have I got control over?’ and I guess that is making sure the children feel okay.”
Elsewhere in the programme, Sir Elton John supports Garraway over the phone, telling her: “I pray for him every night, in my prayers, and you and your family.
“He is an amazing man, please give him my love when you talk to him next time.”
Garraway has been playing Draper music by Sir Elton in a bid to trigger emotional reactions.
Kate Garraway Finding Derek airs on Tuesday at 9pm on ITV.