Steve Irwin's Widow Terri Confesses 'You Don't Ever Get Over Grief' as She Mourns Her Late Husband 19 Years After 'The Crocodile Hunter's' Stingray Death
Steve Irwin's widow, Terri, confessed 'you don't ever get over grief' 19 years after his death.
Sept. 4 2025, Published 5:30 p.m. ET
Beloved conservationist and TV show host Steve Irwin may have been killed 19 years ago in a freak accident, but his death remains a fresh wound for his widow Terri, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Few celebrity deaths have shocked the world in the way Steve's passing did on September 4, 2006, when the wildlife expert was killed after a stingray's barb pierced his chest. The Crocodile Hunter was only 44 years old.
While reflecting on the almost two decades that have passed since her husband's death, Terri, 61, confessed the loss never gets easier because "you don't ever get over grief."
Terri and Steve's Once-in-a-Lifetime Love
Steve and Terri tied the knot in June 1992, four months after they first met.
Steve and Terri tied the knot in June 1992, just four short months after the pair met for the first time while Terri was visiting Australia and decided to stop by the zoo. Both described the meeting as love at first sight.
They welcomed their first child together, daughter Bindi, in July 1998, and their second child, son Robert, followed in December 2003. Their devotion to each other and shared passion for wildlife and the environment were a recipe for success on their hit TV series.
After Steve's death, Terri raised their two children on her own and honored their love by continuing his conservation work.
Terri Admits Her Wildlife Work Triggers Grief Over Steve's Death
Steve and Terri had two children together, daughter Bindi and son Robert.
While her work keeps Steve's memory alive, Terri admitted the constant reminders of her late husband can be emotionally taxing.
She said: "Grief hits you at the most bizarre times. So, I might be talking to biology students, and it will remind me of Steve, and I will burst into tears. You don’t ever get over grief. It changes, but you never wake up one morning and go, ‘Oh, I’m done with that.'"
Terri has found comfort in the 14 years she spent married to her soulmate and has no plans to date again, explaining: "I had the best marriage in the whole world for 14 years, and I'm very comfortable with the person I see in the mirror. So, I’m okay to be on my own now."
The 61-year-old said while she's "lonely for Steve," she's "not a lonely person" and has been "very lucky."
How Was Steve Irwin Killed?
Steve was killed while filming when a stingray barb pierced his chest in a freak attack.
The zookeeper was killed while filming in the Batt Reef near Port Douglas in Queensland for the underwater documentary series Ocean's Deadliest.
At the time, the Ocean's Deadliest crew took a break due to bad weather, but Steve decided to film for his daughter's TV show. He went out snorkeling in the shallow water and captured footage swimming alongside a massive stingray.
As the group was about to wrap filming for the day, they made the fateful decision to get one last shot of Steve and the stingray when the usually docile creature attacked.
Steve's Death Was Caught on Camera
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Terri said 'you don't ever get over grief' of losing a soulmate.
Cameraman Justin Lyons recalled the stingray thrashing back and forth while "stabbing wildly with its tail." He watched as the creature "propped on its front" and unleashed "hundreds of strikes in a few seconds."
He later said: "I panned with the camera as the stingray swam away, I didn't even know it had caused any damage. It wasn't until I panned the camera back that Steve was standing in a huge pool of blood that I realized something had gone wrong."
The stingray's venomous barb punctured Steve's heart and lungs. He was rushed back to the boat but began losing consciousness as the crew raced to shore for medical help. Despite over an hour of CPR being performed, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Years later, as rumors of footage of the attack began floating around, Terri shut down any speculation by confirming all copies of the tape had been destroyed.
