Tragic Details About Steve Irwin's Widow, Terri

While most whirlwind Hollywood romances usually end in the shortest celebrity marriages of all time, there are some exceptions to the rule. One such couple was Steve and Terri Irwin. The two met in October 1991 — several years before Steve became a household name — and wed eight months later. As Terri told ABC News, she was visiting Australia from Oregon when she stumbled across Steve working at a reptile park. Fittingly, the future Crocodile Hunter was in the middle of hosting a crocodile show and Terri was instantly smitten. "I was absolutely floored," she recalled. "I fell then and there, love at first sight."

She moved to Australia, joined Steve in his conservation efforts, and started a family. Steve and Terri's daughter, Bindi Irwin, was born in June 1998 while son Robert Irwin followed in December 2003. The couple was happily married for 14 years when tragedy struck. In 2006, Steve died, and from that moment on, Robert and Bindi's mom had to be strong for her kids, raising them on her own while also keeping the family business, Australia Zoo, running. She's succeeded at both but, not surprisingly, has faced challenges along the way. These are the tragic details about Steve Irwin's widow, Terri.

Terri Irwin's life was forever changed on September 4, 2006, when her husband, Steve Irwin, was killed in a freak accident while filming an animal documentary in Australia. The 44-year-old, who was best known as the Crocodile Hunter, was shooting an underwater scene when a stingray pierced his chest with its tail, which is both barbed and coated in toxins. The TV personality died before medical help arrived and while the incident was caught on camera, the footage was never released and, to this day, nobody knows where Steve Irwin is buried.

Keeping the events of that day private has been key for Terri, who was turned into a widow and single mother in an instant. What she has been open about are her own feelings. Speaking with ABC News' Barbara Walters about a month after the incident, Terri revealed she was drawing strength from her kids, and a higher power. "I have tremendous faith in God that all things happen for a reason, even if we don't understand," she said. What's more, Terri revealed that her love for Steve was so strong, she would always choose to repeat their relationship, even knowing the outcome. "I had romance like I didn't think existed anymore," she mused. "He was passionate and determined and enthusiastic." As Terri later told Australia's Channel Nine (via CBC), Steve would always have a place in her heart. Tearing up, she shared, "He'll walk with me, and certainly with the children, forever."

Steven Irwin died when his daughter, Bindi Irwin, was just 8 years old and son Robert Irwin was only 2. Given how young they were, Robert and Bindi's mom, Terri Irwin, had to be especially strong for her kiddos, as she shared in a candid interview with "20/20" that same year. "I couldn't fall to pieces because the children were there," she said, per the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. What's more, she also had to ensure the family business didn't fall apart. "I have to make sure the zoo keeps running," Terri shared, referencing the Irwin-owned Australia Zoo. She did, however, praise her late husband for always looking ahead. "He planned this wonderful business so that it could continue if anything happened to him," she told the outlet.

It couldn't have been easy, but as Robert would share years later in a 2025 interview with People, Terri made it seem effortless. "A credit to my mom, I never felt as though I ever missed out on anything in life," the now 21-year-old praised. "Obviously, I was missing a very big part of my life, but she made sure that I never felt I missed out — I got to have such an incredible childhood." Robert went on to applaud his mom's strength and ability to balance family life with the zoo while simultaneously working through her own heartbreak.

Following Steve Irwin's death, rumor had it Terri Irwin was romantically linked to Australian actor Russell Crowe on several occasions. Although she initially kept mum on the subject, Terri eventually shut down the chatter in 2017, telling Access Hollywood (via Us Weekly) that Crowe and Steve had a tight bond and that, following the Crocodile Hunter's death, the Oscar winner was merely there to support her. "Russell has been very loyal as a great friend," she mused.

However, despite their apparently close bond, a source told New Idea in 2025 that the pair had actually stopped speaking in 2020 when Crowe began dating Britney Theriot. According to the insider, Crowe's new romantic relationship supposedly threw a wrench into his friendship with Terri. "They would talk on the phone and text all the time, and Terri even considered him to be a father figure to Bindi and Robert after Steve died," the source alleged. "Losing contact with him has been pretty tough for her."

Interestingly, Terri had nothing but good things to say about Crowe during a 2024 interview with Us Weekly when she actually praised his union with Theriot. Terri enthused, "We've been friends for decades and he's just the most wonderful human being."

In the wake of Steve Irwin's untimely death in 2006, Terri Irwin's entire world changed. However, if there's one thing that has stayed put, it is her unwavering love for her other half. Two years after his passing, Terri appeared on "60 Minutes Australia," where she wrangled a crocodile alongside the show's host. When asked if she couldn't help but think of her late husband as she handled the formidable reptile, she got choked up and said, "Oh, I miss him."

Over the years, Terri has continued to grapple with the loss, including navigating the different forms grief can take. "When they say time heals all wounds, it doesn't, but eventually it changes it and it walks next to you," she revealed in a candid conversation on the "Wiggle Talk" podcast in 2024. "It's always there and you have to acknowledge your grief, but it's a companion rather than an all-consuming feeling." According to Terri, the key to coping is to simply accept that the pain of loss doesn't ever fully disappear and that, as she put it, "There's some grief you never really get over, [and] it's OK." As she explained, it's not about forgetting the heartbreak but rather, working to enjoy life in spite of it.

Bindi Irwin was understandably deeply shaken by her father's untimely passing and she's never forgotten him. Indeed, Bindi's tattoos are a tribute to dad Steve Irwin and she's keeping his legacy alive through her conservation work. However, Steve's death hasn't been the only obstacle she's faced in her young life. When Bindi was in her early teens, she tackled another major challenge, this one related to her health. During the span of a decade, beginning in 2013, Bindi underwent countless tests without being able to figure out what was causing, as she wrote on Instagram, "insurmountable fatigue, pain & nausea." Making matters worse, she shared, "A doctor told me it was simply something you deal with as a woman & I gave up entirely, trying to function through the pain." It wasn't until years later that Bindi learned she had endometriosis, which is a condition in which tissue resembling uterine lining grows outside the uterus. It can lead to cysts, scar tissue, and chronic pain. As Bindi noted in an Instagram update, "This disease is crippling and can make you feel incredibly isolated."

In 2023, Bindi had surgery to remove 37 endometriosis lesions and a cyst, then went under the knife again in 2025. As mom Terri Irwin documented on Instagram, the latter wasn't easy. "I am so proud of you, Bindi," she wrote, revealing Bindi had an emergency appendectomy, 14 endometriosis lesions removed, and a hernia repaired. "I love you so much and I know you will recover stronger than ever," she gushed.

Terri Irwin is adamant that she's not looking for a new love, and never will be. As she told Access Hollywood in 2017 (via Us Weekly), she has not considered dating because she's totally happy focusing on her kids and conservation work. "I'm lonely for Steve, but I'm not a lonely person," she shared, explaining she doesn't want to go out with anyone else "because I feel a connection still with Steve."

That connection is still going strong. As she told The Courier Mail (via Yahoo! Lifestyle) in 2021, "I keep saying this, and I think maybe 15 years later people are finally starting to believe me, Steve was it for me." Driving the point home, she underscored, "I had a big, big love and it was enough to last a lifetime."

It's a sentiment Terri has continued to express over the years, noting she's content being on her own. "I totally got my happily ever after," she told Us Weekly in 2024, gushing, "I had the best marriage in the whole world for 14 years." As far as she's concerned, no one could ever live up to Steve Irwin's legacy. "While there are a lot of wonderful men in the world, can you see another Steve Irwin?" Terri mused. "I just can't." She again drove that point home in 2025 during an interview with Australian outlet Stellar (via the Daily Mail). "I never mourn being on my own and not being in a relationship," she assured, adding that folks need to accept the fact that happiness comes in many forms. "I think women are still amazing, fulfilled, incredible people — even if you never marry, if you have four kids, or two kids, or no kids," she continued. "There are no rules."

Terri Irwin has been busy focusing on her two kids, as well as her conservation work, but thoughts of Steve Irwin are regularly on her mind. As she confessed to Us Weekly in 2025, "My life is very full and very rich and every day, I wish Steve was here, but I'm so lucky." While she misses him, Terri noted that the memories she holds of her late husband are all positive and they've actually served to motivate her to do her best each single day. She shared that she still draws inspiration from Steve's zest for life and his commitment to make the most every moment.

What's more, Terri is ensuring that Steve's memory lives on in the wider world. In addition to continuing his work at the family-owned Australia Zoo, she's also started the annual Steve Irwin Gala to raise funds and awareness for various conservation efforts. "We are together as a family and we get to celebrate my husband, their dad, and that's really special too," Terri said of the event. And while she's never sought any personal praise for her work, Terri's strength hasn't gone unnoticed. "It's all thanks to mom keeping that legacy going," son Robert Irwin, who is exactly like dad Steve, gushed. "I couldn't imagine how hard that would've been and is every day, but you're just our pillar of strength through it all."