Terri Irwin has illustrated an incredible dedication to the love of her life, Steve Irwin. Friday marks 14 years since Steve's sudden death on September 4, 2006. He was just 44 years old when he was stung in the chest by a massive stingray while filming a project.
In the years since Steve's death, Terri has continued his legacy. She shares that fondly with their two children, 22-year-old Bindi and 16-year-old Robert. Bindi, now married and starting a family of her own, is always reminiscing on her special bond with her father. As he gets older, Robert looks more and more like his dear dad. All three continue to share his love for wildlife. The tight-knit family has held each other up through the difficult times without him.
Terri took to Twitter to share some memories of Steve. Her life was changed forever by his death. It is often bittersweet, but today she proudly chooses love over grief. People from all walks of life are showing her love as she looks back on her time with Steve.
Terri Irwin has been reminiscing on her time with Steve Irwin. The couple was married for 14 years before Steve's untimely death in 2006. Terri has been very candid about their relationship in the past.
"I'm just lonely for Steve," she admitted on a 2018 appearance on Anh's Brush With Fame.
"I always felt with Steve, if I hadn't married Steve I wouldn't have gotten married," she continued.
"I wasn't even dating, I wasn't even looking. I was 27 years old and figured my life was going to be my work and met Steve and fell instantly in love."
Despite rumors that occasionally surface, Terri hasn't dated and isn't interested in it.
"I feel that we had that soulmate thing. And in the ten years since, I haven't dated or even thought about it. Because I'm not afraid to be on my own," she noted.
"It's just really hard not having Steve. I'm just lonely for Steve, if that makes sense."
During the appearance, she also spoke about her relationship with grief in the time since Steve's been gone.
"Grief hits you at the most bizarre times. So I might be talking to biology students and it will remind me of Steve and I will burst into tears," she said.
"You don't ever get over grief. It changes, but you never wake up one morning and go, 'oh, I'm done with that.' That was the challenge in the journey after Steve died."
Terri has revisited her thoughts about grief in her recent tweet on the 14th anniversary of Steve's death:
"This is a particularly poignant moment in time for me. Today marks 14 years since I lost Steve, after 14 wonderful years of marriage. I feel that I have a choice: celebrate love or struggle with grief. I choose love."
Not all of her feelings on this complicated day are heavy ones, however. Terri also shared memories of happy days:
"I'm remembering the wonderful filming adventures Steve & I had when we were waiting for the arrival of our dear Bindi. It's so wonderful that now@BindiIrwin and@chandlerpowell9 are expecting! I am so happy for them and feel incredibly blessed."
Terri also shared her excitement on Twitter when Bindi and Chandler announced last month that they were expecting a "baby Wildlife Warrior":
"This is the best day ever! I am over the moon to announce that @BindiIrwin and @chandlerpowell9 are going to have a baby! Words cannot express the love that is filling my heart. While I wish that Steve was here to share this beautiful moment, I know that he would be so proud."
Bindi has been on an emotional journey as well. This is her first pregnancy, and she's soaking up all the feelings that come with it:
"Reflecting on when we found out that we are going to be parents. ❤️ Discovering that I was going to become a mother will forever be a moment where time stood still. I took a test and ran into the kitchen where Chandler was making us tea. He didn't hear me come in so I speechlessly watched him pouring the water into my most loved hedgehog mug."
"This news would change the course of our future in the best way. I started crying tears of pure joy and told my sweetheart husband that my test was positive. We were beaming while our adorable puppy Piggy sat on our feet wondering what was going on. It reminded me of just how perceptive animals are," she continued.
"We sat together with tea talking about the future and how we were going to share such wonderful, life-changing news with the people that we love. In that short span of time the gorgeous baby I'm carrying became the most important part of our lives.
"It is such a blessing knowing that this tiny person has chosen us as parents. Our baby Wildlife Warrior is going to be so very loved by our families and entire Australia Zoo team. I can't wait to find out what this amazing new soul loves in life, and experience the world all over again through their eyes."
Bindi recently revealed that she would be keeping her last name. She shared the thoughts behind the decision with Entertainment Tonight.
"I think that for me personally, after Dad passed away it was really important for me to feel close to him, and having his last name means so much to me," she said.
"Chandler has become an Irwin now. It has become a part of me. Everyone has their own ideas, but the nice thing is that it's 2020 now. Anything works!"
In an earlier interview, Bindi shared her belief that Chandler and Steve would have gotten along great.
"He's always up for a challenge," she said of Chandler.
"From jumping on crocodiles to getting his little cocky bow tie on, you know he's doing good. So, I hope Dad would love Chandler. We all love him."
Chandler's love for the Irwin family started long before he met Bindi. She recently shared a picture of a young Chandler happily holding up a Crocodile Hunter DVD:
"This makes my heart so happy. My sweetheart husband has watched Dad's documentaries since he was little. ❤️."
