Terri Irwin Tearfully Admits She's Never Gotten Over the Grief of Husband Steve's Death
It's been more than a decade since Crocodile Hunter star Steve Irwin died, and his wife Terri is still dealing with the heartbreaking tragedy.
In a new interview with Australian star Anh Do's ABC show, Anh's Brush With Fame, 53-year-old Terri breaks down while talking about the moment she was told Steve had died. The beloved conservationist died in 2006 when he was stabbed in the heart by a stingray while filming an underwater documentary film called Ocean's Deadliest. He was 44 years old.
"The thing I didn't expect or understand was just how it affected everyone," Terri says, breaking down in tears.
Terri also shares that she's still sometimes overcome by sadness when thinking about her late husband.
"Grief hits you at the most bizarre times," she continues in the interview (quotes via The Daily Mail). "So, I might be talking to biology students and it will remind me of Steve and I will burst into tears."
"You don't ever get over grief," she adds. "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 says that without a doubt, Steve was her "soulmate," and that they fell instantly in love after meeting one another. They tied the knot in 1992.
"In the 10 years since [his death], I haven't dated or even thought about it," she reveals. "Because I'm not afraid to be on my own. I always felt with Steve, if I hadn't married Steve I wouldn't have gotten married."
"I'm just lonely for Steve," she says at one point.
The couple shared two children together, 19-year-old daughter Bindi and 14-year-old son Robert. Bindi was only eight years old at the time of her father's death, while Robert was two.
"I just remember this incredible sense of responsibility," Terri says, recalling having to tell their children of Steve's death. "This feeling of overwhelming grief but, it was like, 'What do I do next?'"
Though nothing could prepare Terri for the overwhelming support she received from his fans around the world.
"But then no one would have been more surprised than Steve at that, just outpouring of grief and love," she says.
ET spoke with the Irwin family at the Steve Irwin Gala in May, and they opened up about how Steve would react to Bindi's longtime boyfriend, Chandler Powell.
"I hope he’d like Chandler. I think he would," Bindi said. "I mean, Chandler’s wonderful."
"Dad always used to say, ‘If you’re gonna date a guy, he has to cross the croc pond first,'" she added. "And thankfully, Chandler's a wakeboarder. So you know what? Wakeboarding across the pond, I’m sure he would have passed the test."
Here's more with the Irwin family:
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