Internationally renowned environmentalist Steve Irwin who rose to fame with his wildlife series The Crocodile Hunter, died back in 2006 doing what he loved best – getting close to and creating bonds with dangerous animals. The 44-year-old was pierced through the heart by the poisonous spine of a stingray while filming a documentary titled Ocean’s Deadliest show on the Great Barrier Reef. And the news of his death definitely shocked everyone, especially his wife and two kids, Bindi, 8, and Robert, 2.
In an interview with PEOPLE, Bindi Irwin remembered at the time how people were coming up to her and telling her how sorry they were for her loss. And that time heals all wounds. But for Bindi, it wasn’t just true because you could never get back a part of your heart that had been lost. And it took a long time for her to actually understand what had happened, and for the most part, it always felt like her dad was coming home.
But the family, despite grieving, chose to continue Steve’s legacy, and they worked tirelessly to keep it alive. And in 2018, the family launched an Australian reality TV series titled Crikey! It’s the Irwins that showcased their work at the Australian Zoo.
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Aside from that, Bindi also had the chance to join and win Dancing With The Stars in 2015, where she paid tribute to her father every week especially. And in the “Most Memorable Year” week, Bindi brought the ballroom to tears as she danced her contemporary routine with Derek Hough to the tune of “Every Breath You Take” by The Police, which was in honor of the year 2006 when her dad passed away.
And now, even though a decade has passed since Steve Irwin died, Bindi admitted that she still cries whenever she sees footage of him. One time, they were playing a video about a petition against the harvesting of crocodile eggs, and part of that was an old footage of her dad with crocodiles. But even though she had seen the video multiple times, she couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down her face.
She said, “Some days, you feel the grief more than others. What gets to me are those moments when I’d love him to be here to share what we’re doing.”
