To mark 28 years to the day since her late husband, Steve Irwin, proposed marriage to her, Terri Irwin shared an emotional message on social media alongside a sweet throwback photo of herself with her one true love.
On Feb. 2, 2020, Terri took to Twitter, and she wrote:
“It was 28 years ago today, here at @AustraliaZoo, that Steve asked me to marry him. Life is constantly changing. Love is forever.”
On the same day, Steve and Terri’s daughter, Bindi, took to Instagram, and she wrote:
“28 years ago the two greatest Wildlife Warriors got engaged here @AustraliaZoo. Their love for each other and our planet continues to inspire us all.
“Mum & Dad, thank you for teaching me the meaning of unconditional love. Happy engagement anniversary. I love you.”
Thousands of followers shared, liked, and commented on the moving posts, reiterating that the late “Crocodile Hunter” is still loved and missed by a loyal community of wildlife champions.
“Love sure is forever,” wrote one Twitter user. “How we miss Steve terribly but [are] so thankful for the wonderful time you both had together and those precious kids you’ve made! Thanks for sharing your beautiful memories with us!”
“I grew up with Steve Irwin and he was one of my earliest heroes,” wrote another Twitter user. “And now my 5-year-old daughter feels the same! She loves watching Croc Hunter!”
“Love transcends time, space, distance, universes,” they added. “Until you meet again...”
As per ET Online, native Oregonian Terri met Steve in 1991 when she visited the Australian reptile park where Steve was employed as a zookeeper. “Right away we were talking about wildlife, and our passions in life, and I kept thinking, ‘I wonder if this guy’s married,’” Terri told People.
Love blossomed, and the couple tied the knot in 1992. They took over Steve’s parents’ Beerwah Reptile and Fauna Park, renamed it Australia Zoo, and had two children together: Bindi, now 21, and Robert, now 16.
Steve died tragically and unexpectedly after suffering a puncture wound to the chest from a stingray barb in September 2006. He was 44 years old.
As of January 2020, the couple’s daughter, Bindi, is engaged to her boyfriend of six years, professional wakeboarder Chandler Powell. The couple plan to tie the knot at Australia Zoo later in the year, emulating the love story of Bindi’s parents, Terri and Steve. Robert will be walking his sister down the aisle in place of the siblings’ late father.
“The most important thing is getting married here at Australia Zoo,” Bindi told ET Online, “because this is where I feel closest to Dad [...] I want to make sure that my Mum is there, my brother is there, and that it’s a really close family event, and we'll remember Dad, whether it’s a clip that we play of Dad or something that just reminds us of him.”
Two years after Steve’s passing, Terri opened up to 60 Minutes Australia about her fear of being a single parent. “What they don’t tell you when you lose someone is that you’re afraid,” she said, “and you expect to be sad, but it’s a bit scary, too [...] tackling things on my own and not having my best friend.”
Ten years later, in an interview with People, accompanied by her children, Terri reflected that there will always be potential for finding love again. “I’m personally not looking,” the conservationist and mother of two explained, “and I haven’t been out on a date [...] for 27 years!”
“I had my ‘happily ever after,’” Terri concluded, “so I’m doing okay.”
The Irwin family continues to honor Steve’s legacy by running Australia Zoo together—they are inundated with wildlife patients in the midst of the Australian bushfire crisis—and planning for Bindi’s upcoming wedding.
