Terri Irwin Recalls Her First Meeting With Late Husband Steve and His ‘Girlfriend’

Talk about having competition! Terri Irwin reveals how exactly things went down when she first met her late husband, Steve Irwin — and it’s quite the hilarious encounter!

“Well, it’s funny, because when Steve and I met, he asked me, ‘Would you like to meet my girlfriend?’” Terri, 55, told Us Weekly. “I just felt utterly crushed, and then he called out, ‘Hey, Suey,’ and here comes this little dog, Suey. I went, ‘Boom! No girlfriend!’” The story comes a bit of time after her eldest child, Bindi Irwin, became engaged to her man, Chandler Powell. The young conservationist also revealed how she and her fiancé, 22, met in a similar way as her folks.

“It’s just extraordinary. We met in the same place at the Australia Zoo that Mum and Dad did,” Bindi explained. “They have a photo of when they first met, and so do we, and we both have those silly little smiles. … Dad’s rocking his mullet, and Mom has her very much ’80s hair going. It’s so special. Just glowing.” So incredible!

The legendary Crocodile Hunter passed away in September 2006 after being stung in the heart by a stingray while swimming out in the Batt Reef in Australia. However, while it has been more than ten years, his death of course still impacts his family. “Some days you feel the grief more than others,” Bindi, 21, told Stellar magazine back in the summer. “What gets to me are those moments when I’d love him to be here to share what we’re doing. It could be when my brother [Robert] is receiving an accolade for his photography, or it might be at the end of the day when we’re having dinner and laughing. I’ll think: ‘I wish Dad was here for this.’ But he’s just not there.'”

“There’s old footage of Dad with the crocodiles and, even though I’ve seen the video maybe 50 times, that day I started crying,” Bindi added. Although, the famous family have made it their mission to keep Steve’s memory alive, especially with their reality show on Animal Planet, Crikey! It’s the Irwins.

“He was going 90 miles per hour always, rarely sleeping past 2 a.m.,” Terri exclusively told Closer Weekly of her late love’s busy life. “He’d do a full day’s work before I even [started], and he was just as passionate as what you saw on television That’s why it’s so important for her to keep his legacy alive.”

“From the time they hatched,” Terri joked of her children, “Steve was a hands-on dad. There was nothing that made him happier than sharing wildlife and adventures with Bindi and Robert.” So inspiring!