Why Steve Irwin didn’t want kids with wife Terri
Terri Irwin has revealed that she and late husband Steve were not planning to have children.
In a new interview with Who magazine, the 54-year-old mother of two said they were not thinking of having children until six years into their marriage.
The couple, who starred in The Crocodile Hunter together until Steve’s death in 2006, got married in 1992.
“When we got married, Steve said, ‘I’m just an action man. I don’t know how we would ever have kids.’ And I didn’t feel strongly one way or another,” said Terri.
“But after almost six years of marriage, he burst through the door one evening and said, ‘We’ve got to have children! Who do we leave all this to? Who will carry it on?’
“I go, ‘Just because you have children doesn't mean they'll like or do what you do’. He said, ‘Nope! We have to have children and they will love wildlife and so this’.”
They later welcomed daughter Bindi in 1998 and son Robert in 2003.
At one point, Steve was considering leaving television to spend more time with their children.
“I remember him saying to me, ‘I don’t think I’m going to film anymore, I think I’m just going to spend time with my kids’,” Terri told the ABC’s Anh's Brush With Fame.
“He never thought he would have a long life. He had this sense that his life would be cut short.”
Steve died in 2006 at the age of 44 during a documentary shooting, where he was attacked by a stingray in Batt Reef, Queensland.
Terri, Bindi and Robert are now starring in Crikey! It’s the Irwins on Animal Planet, as well as working for their wildlife park Australia Zoo in Queensland, and conservation non-profit Wildlife Warriors.
Good morning Australia and New Zealand! We’ll be back in khaki tonight for “Crikey! It’s the Irwins” at 6:30pm (5:30pm Qld) @AnimalPlanet. pic.twitter.com/q9Sgir6p7J
— Terri Irwin (@TerriIrwin) January 18, 2019
“Dad always said that he didn’t care if people remembered him, as long as they remembered his message,” Bindi told People.
“Every day we work with the beautiful animals at Australia Zoo and do the best we possibly can to ensure dad’s dreams and goals continue.”