Steve and Terri Irwin became global stars in the ’90s and 2000s when they starred in several wildlife series such as The Crocodile Hunter and The Crocodile Hunter Diaries.
The two of them had a loving relationship until Steve’s unexpected death in 2006. Looking back on their marriage, Terri and Steve also met in a very Crocodile Hunter way.
Terri and Steve got married in 1992 in her home state of Oregon. Afterward, Terri moved to Australia. The couple welcomed two children during their marriage: Bindi (born 1998) and Robert (born 2003).
In 2019, before her wedding, Bindi shared a piece of marriage advice her mother gave her, which gave a glimpse into what Terri and Steve’s marriage was like.
“She said to me a few months ago, she said, ‘Your dad and I used to always talk about what makes a perfect marriage, or a really wonderful marriage, and what’s interesting is that for us, it was kind of that feeling of comfort,’” Irwin told Entertainment Tonight. “So you know, your relationship can be this wonderful, exciting adventure, but you want to find someone who, at the end of the day, you’re really comfortable with.”
Bindi added, “It sounds really weird, but if you have your most comfortable pair of shoes, you can always count on them, you know, that they’re always gonna hold up, and they’ll walk you through life and they’re dependable. And she said, ‘That’s what our marriage was. It was like the most comfortable pair of shoes … That’s what you’re looking for, so you can enjoy all of this wonderful adventure, but then at the end of the day, you’ll come home to someone who will always be there for you and who will back you up and just be that comfort and support in your life.’”
Terri and Steve met in 1991 when Terri visited the Australia Zoo that Steve’s father had founded.
“So I met Steve way back in 1991 when I went to Australia Zoo as an innocent tourist coming to Australia, visiting the country, went in and there’s this guy in this zoo doing a crocodile demonstration talking about crocs the way I’d never heard before, you know like they’re, they’re really passionate lovers, wonderful mothers, and he desperately loved crocodiles,” she told ABC Australia in 2004. “And I thought, what is with this guy? And then as he bent over to pick up some food for the croc, I went, what is with this guy?”
Terri also came from a family of environmentalists, and she shared that she was drawn to Steve because “he’s the first guy I met that I couldn’t chase with a snake.”
It has been over 15 years since Steve’s death, and some onlookers have wondered if Terri will be remarrying anytime soon. However, Terri has shared that she is not looking to date anyone after Steve.
“You know, and I keep saying this, and I think maybe 15 years later people are finally starting to believe me, Steve was it for me,” she said in 2021, according to Yahoo. “That’s just the way it is. I had a big, big love and it was enough to last a lifetime.”
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