Prue Leith has shared her "distraught" and "guilt-ridden" feelings over the death of her first husband, Rayne Kruger. The Great British Bake Off judge experienced a harrowing time when property developer and author Rayne was admitted to hospital just before Christmas in 2002. Prue described his ordeal as a "horrible time", with one incident where he was "thrashing about" while medical staff struggled to help him breathe.
Despite showing some signs of recovery, being able to sit up in a chair, the situation took a tragic turn. In her memoir I'll Try Anything Once, Prue recounts how she left Rayne in hospital to prepare for Christmas, promising to return later. READ MORE: People discover little-known detail on Haribo packs – and it's blowing minds READ MORE: 'He told me he loved me, then he told me he'd been shot' When she arrived back at the hospital that night however, Prue began to suspect the worst.
The curtains around Rayne's bed were drawn, and she was intercepted by a nurse as she went towards her husband. Prue writes: "She turned me around and steered me into a side room. I knew the worst.
" Medics explained 80-year-old Rayne had died "15 minutes" before Prue arrived. They said they had "done all they could" as two doctors and three nurses fought for 10 minutes to save him. Prue, set to appear on The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice, expressed her preference that her husband should have "died gently while having a nap", lamenting that she wasn't there at his side.
