Bindi Irwin lost "part of [her] heart" when her father died.
The 20-year-old star was just eight years old when her dad, Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, passed away after being attacked by a stingray in 2006, and though people tried to reassure her that her grief would ease with time, she hasn’t found that to be the case.
She told People magazine: "I remember people coming up to me and saying, ‘I’m sorry for your loss, sweetheart. Time heals all wounds.’ But that’s just not true.
"It’s like losing a part of your heart, and when you’ve lost that, you never get it back."
The ‘Crikey! It’s the Irwins’ star, along with her brother Robert, 15, and mother Terri, 54, works hard to keep her father’s memory and campaigns alive, and the family travel the world promoting his charity Wildlife Warriors – which aims to educate people about endangered species – as well as working at their Australia Zoo.
And Bindi hopes Steve would be proud of their efforts.
She said: "I sure hope dad would be proud. We really do try every day to make him proud and follow in his footsteps. I hope that somewhere he’s out there going, ‘Yes! You did good!’ "
Robert added: "This is our passion. It’s a part of us, and Australia Zoo will always be home."
Meanwhile, Bindi is delighted her boyfriend, Chandler Powell, shares so many of her dad’s best qualities.
She said: "He loves wildlife and conservation and he has this strength. Which is necessary when you’re jumping on crocs."
The 22-year-old wakeboarder has moved from Florida to join his girlfriend and her family in Australia
and has embraced his new life.
He quipped: "I’ve got my khaki on and I am loving it!"
Bindi Irwin still devastated by dad’s death
