Terri Irwin says Steve Irwin’s proposal was completely “true” to who he was.
In 1991, Terri traveled from her home in Eugene, Oregon, to Queensland, Australia, not knowing she would meet her future husband.
While there, she visited the Irwin family’s wildlife park, where Steve had just taken over management two days earlier from his parents, according to the family’s official website. They met and instantly fell in love, and the rest was history. Their whirlwind romance moved fast, and just a few months after meeting, they were engaged.
During a recent episode of Australia’s Nine Podcast, Terri recalled the day Steve proposed, and it wasn’t the big, planned-out gesture you might think it was. In reality, it was completely unromantic… yet perfect for them.
“True to Steve, I was over for a second visit and there was a big eucalyptus tree that had been hit by lightning and killed,” Terri explained. “So we cut this tree down and it took us all day and I was utterly exhausted. And I’m sweaty and I’ve got leaves in my hair.”
“We sit down at the end of the day, and I was like, ‘Well we got that done,’ and my back’s killing me, and he goes, ‘So what do you reckon, you want to get married?,’” she said, laughing along with the show’s host.
“Swear to God, I’m like, ‘I’m not seeing any rose petals or candles,’” she added.
It was definitely sudden, but Terri knew what her answer was.
“Well, I thought of every reason I couldn’t, you know? I owned my house, my business, my friends, my family.” “And I said, ‘Yeah. Yes, let’s do it. Let’s do it.’ So he said, ‘Why don’t you live here until the wedding and then we can get married. And I said, ‘Oh I won’t live with you ’til we’re married.’ And he goes, ‘How soon can we get a wedding?’”
They officially tied the knot in June 1992 in Eugene, Oregon, and later had their two children, Bindi and Robert.
Steve sadly passed away at just 44 years old in September 2006 after a stingray struck his heart. Since then, Terri has stayed committed to carrying on his mission of wildlife conservation. She now serves as the sole chair of the Australian Zoo.
She’s also shared that she has no intention to get romantically involved with anyone else. In a 2024 interview with US Weekly, Terri expressed that nothing could ever live up to the relationship that she and Steve had.
“I totally got my happily ever after,” she said. “And while there are a lot of wonderful men in the world, can you see another Steve Irwin? I just can’t. I’d be like, ‘I love that you’re a librarian and the dude decimal system is cool, but I got to go jump a crocodile and do that.’ Forget that.”