SHE wasn't ready to say goodbye. For 34 years hed been her soulmate, her anchor, her best friend. They'd dreamt of growing old together but now he was asking her to do something that felt impossible.
After months spent fighting a brave battle against cancer and sepsis, Derek Watts told his wife, Belinda, it was time - his family had to let him go.
"He didn't want to suffer anymore," Belinda tells YOU. "He chose his time to go. He told us how much we meant to him, how much he loved us. We'd been everything in his life and he was ready to go and be with God."
It was devastating but she and their two children, Kirsten (30) and Tyrone (32), knew they had to be strong during the precious final hours they spent beside the hospital bed of the much-loved Carte Blanche presenter.
"We permitted him to go and we were with him holding his hand as he drew his last breath, as dramatic as that sounds" Belinda says.
She's grateful they had this time with Derek (74) and the chance to say everything that needed to be said. And it's the reason why just four days after his death, she and her kids sound so contained as they speak to us.
They're gathered at their home in Bryanston, Johannesburg, where there are so many memories. Though the grief is still raw, it's a comfort to be able to speak about him and they want people to know that Derek the family man was just as extraordinary as the guy that everyone got to know on TV.
"He was the most wonderful husband," Belinda says. "I said to him a few days ago, 'Thank you for choosing me', because I had quite a complicated childhood and I think that when he came along, he was able to provide me with just intense security, love and respect."
BELINDA and Derek met in the pet-food section of Pick n Pay in Benmore, Sandton.
Denne historien er fra 7 September 2023-utgaven av YOU South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra 7 September 2023-utgaven av YOU South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
BALLON IN THE BAG
Manchester City midfielder Rodrigo Hernandez Cascante says his Ballon d'Or win is a victory for Spanish football
IT WAS ALL A LIE
A new doccie exposes the Grey's Anatomy writer who fabricated her life story
'I WILL NEVER GIVE UP'
After her husband, anticorruption activist Alexei Navalny, was poisoned and murdered by the Kremlin, she became the public face of Russia's opposition. In this candid interview Yulia Navalnaya opens up about life on the run, her perilous family life and why she's continuing her husband's fight to save their country
AGREE TO DISAGREE
Trevor Noah on how his childhood squabbles with his mother inspired his delightful new book
PAUSE THE CLOCK
Researchers have discovered that the ageing process spikes at 44 and 60. Here's what you can do to slow it down
MPOOMY ON TOP
We chat to SA's most popular female podcaster about love, loss and her booming success
MY BROTHER IS NOT TO BLAME
Tinus Drotské says his sibling, ex Bok Nǎka, is the victim in the brawl with a neighbour that landed up in court
MATT THE RECLUSE
A year after his friend's tragic death, the actor continues to shun the spotlight
A LEAP OF FAITH
After her husband tried to kill her by tampering with her parachute she thought she'd never trust a man again-but now she's found love
THEY'RE MY KIDS!
This West Coast woman treats her monkeys as iftheyre humans and animal activists are not happy about it