Yahoo News Bindi Irwin opens up about losing her dad Steve
Bindi Irwin has said she is "grateful" that she got to spend "eight wonderful years" with her wildlife TV presenter father, Steve Irwin, who died in 2006.
Steve was known for feeding giant crocodiles, swimming with great white sharks and introducing poisonous snakes to the mainstream via his Animal Planet TV show, and his tragic death – caused by a stingray barb piercing his heart while he was filming an underwater documentary in Queensland, Australia – stunned fans across the world.
The beloved Australian presenter was 44 years old when he died, leaving his wife Terri and children Bindi and Robert – then aged eight and two years old respectively. All the family regularly featured in his nature documentaries.
[Terri, Robert and Bindi in their new show]
Now, Terri, Bindi and Robert are back on the Animal Planet channel with Crikey! It's the Irwins. Ahead of the show's release, Bindi spoke to Cosmopolitan.com/uk about continuing her father's legacy.
"That magic he had is something we lose as we get older," she said. "When you're a kid you have that childlike curiosity about the world around you, but dad always held onto that. He was so excited to share with other people how special our planet truly is, that's who he was."
A post shared by Bindi Irwin (@bindisueirwin) on Sep 20, 2018 at 4:43pm PDT
Bindi added that her favourite memories of her dad include him taking them out of maths tests to go and climb a mountain instead – and how on one occasion, he took a 4-year-old Bindi into the open ocean to play with a pod of dolphins.
"Dad, being dad, said: 'Why don't we just jump in?' He put on my floaties [armbands] – I could swim, but this was the open ocean.
"I held onto Dad's shoulders and as we were swimming, the dolphins came up to us and started jumping and diving over my head. They brought their little babies up to us too. I'll remember that moment for the rest of my life."
[Steve, Terri and Bindi]
Bindi added that she's grateful most of the memories of time with her dad were captured on camera, so that "if anything starts to fade, I just press play and get to re-live some of the best times of my life".
Bindi also remembers reading the eulogy at her father's memorial at Australia Zoo in Queensland, where the family still live.
"We were all so, so sad but I could focus on this project," she continued. "Every day I'd work on my speech with mum, who would help me.
"On the day, I held my little paper and used my finger to read the words, because I was afraid I'd miss one. It was one of the most powerful moments after losing dad."
[Bindi reading a speech at her dad Steve's memorial in 2006]
Bindi says she misses her dad every single day, but is excited to continue his legacy. She also had wise words of advice for anybody else struggling with the grief of losing someone.
"Its so important to remember that losing someone you love so very much is like losing a piece of your heart and, when I figured that out, it really helped me," she said.
"I will forever miss dad every single day, but I can find love and light and happiness again. You can find that joy and that's what the person you've lost would want.
"Everyone has a different grief journey and that's ok. As long as it's not hurting yourself or anyone around you, there's no right or wrong way."
Crikey! It's the Irwins premieres on October 28 at 8pm on Animal Planet.
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