Terri Irwin Quotes

Grief is never something you get over. You don't wake up one morning and say, 'I've conquered that; now I'm moving on.' It's something that walks beside you every day. And if you can learn how to manage it and honour the person that you miss, you can take something that is incredibly sad and have some form of positivity.

- Terri Irwin

To me, Steve was my Prince Charming. He was my happily ever after, and we got that. We got 14 years of marriage; we had the best, most fantastic, adventurous, wonderful life that you could imagine. And I was very happy with that.

- Terri Irwin

Steve worked tirelessly to promote conservation, wildlife, and the environment, and his work enabled the plight of endangered species to reach a whole new audience.

- Terri Irwin

When we lost Steve, it was a real crossroads of deciding if you're just going to curl up in the corner or try to do something even bigger and better.

- Terri Irwin

None of us are immune to grief, and everyone who has suffered loss understands that grief changes, but you never wake up one morning and you've moved on. It stays with you, and, you know, you ebb and flow.

- Terri Irwin

Bindi's really, you know, got her own goals and aspirations, and if I can nurture what Bindi loves, then I think I'm being a good parent. Because Bindi's got a natural love for wildlife, I think that will be part of what we're nurturing.

- Terri Irwin

Steve hadn't been to acting school. He had no preconceived notions. His background was exactly what you see on television; he's done that all his life. We thought we'd do one show. What happened was, it did really well, so we did a part two. And from then on, we found that Steve's natural behavior in the wild happens to be fascinating!

- Terri Irwin

I've grown up with an active outdoor lifestyle. Before I lived in Australia, I ran a construction company in Oregon, U.S.A. I also owned horses and would spend several weeks a year exploring Oregon's beautiful wilderness areas on horseback.

- Terri Irwin

Your grief path is yours alone, and no one else can walk it, and no one else can understand it.

- Terri Irwin

Good nutrition and regular exercise definitely help you cope with life's dramas.

- Terri Irwin

I still feel immense love and loyalty to Steve. And I've got great kids, I've got a very full life, and while I'm lonely for Steve, I'm not a lonely person.

- Terri Irwin

You can't focus on yourself. You need to focus on what you're doing for others, and then you can start to heal.

- Terri Irwin

Steve had a real sixth sense about so many things. He had an odd connection with wildlife. He was extraordinarily intuitive with people. I found it all very - I don't know if 'eerie' is the word, but remarkable, certainly.

- Terri Irwin

I've always told Bindi, 'If anything ever happened to me, I will always watch over you from Heaven.' But she always understood because, living at a zoo, animals die; she's seen death. She knows what death is.

- Terri Irwin

If you can reach out and touch and love and be with wildlife, you will forever be changed, and you will want to make the world a better place.

- Terri Irwin

I discovered on my own that I could cope better with the crippling effects of grief by taking care of myself, eating right, and working out.

- Terri Irwin

When we lost Steve, the grief was understandable, but I wasn't prepared for how scary everything became - that fear factor of 'Now I'm doing this on my own.'

- Terri Irwin

I live in Australia Zoo. I have a very private home. We've got three bedrooms, one bathroom... The carpets are rose-coloured, which grossed Steve out, but I love it. He let me do everything the way I wanted. The house is just warm and cozy and small.

- Terri Irwin

No matter how many shows or how much work we do, we are not going to make a difference. It's only the masses that will make a difference.

- Terri Irwin

When it comes to managing crocodiles, we are learning that it is actually more important to manage people. Learning how to keep people safe from crocodiles will ultimately protect visitors to croc territory as well as the crocodilians themselves.

- Terri Irwin

For us, conservation work isn't just what we do. It's who we are. It's really defined us that this is what we've dedicated our lives to.

- Terri Irwin

Steve had a broad, easy smile and the biggest hands I had ever seen. I could tell by his stature and stride that he was accustomed to hard work.

- Terri Irwin

Living with Steve was like standing in a cyclone. Then we lost him. It was like the wind stopped.

- Terri Irwin

I am someone who tunes into more ethical journalism, and I'm not someone who dwells a lot on the negative, so I think I'd rather focus on the positive and forge ahead.

- Terri Irwin

I think, for other people who have lost someone and have loved again, it's a beautiful thing. But it's just not really on my horizon.

- Terri Irwin

Steve was such an immense person in so many ways. I never realized how much I depended on him until he was gone.

- Terri Irwin

I have friends who have lost husbands and have gone off and tried different things. Nothing wrong with that.

- Terri Irwin

It does seem like, in the world today, we've moved further and further away from wildlife. There's that sense of whatever you're scared of, you just want it to go away. Here in Australia Zoo, part of our ongoing plan is that re-connection.

- Terri Irwin

Steve was every woman's fantasy: macho but not a jerk, sensitive but not a wuss.

- Terri Irwin

You can't just go and collect animals from the wild. It's totally illegal.

- Terri Irwin

I find it wonderful when people live, love, and laugh again.

- Terri Irwin

I have tremendous faith in God that all things happen for a reason, even if we don't understand.

- Terri Irwin

Steve was such an example as one man doing what he could to change the world.

- Terri Irwin

Australia and New Zealand have traditionally shared very close links, yet there are things that set us apart and make us unique - Australia's wildlife experience being one of them.

- Terri Irwin

When Bindi and Robert have grown, there will probably be another life for me, and I can't anticipate exactly what that will be, but it will involve continuing Steve's work, conservation, being there for my kids, Australia Zoo.

- Terri Irwin

It's a dynamic of grief within any family, and I found, after we lost Steve, his dad just began distancing himself. And I think it's a coping mechanism. I found it very confusing.

- Terri Irwin

I haven't dated anyone in the ten years since we lost Steve just because I feel a connection still with Steve.

- Terri Irwin

It pays to be in the best shape possible when you're wrangling the largest reptiles on Earth!

- Terri Irwin

We need to stand as a nation, a state, a community to protect wildlife and wild places for our children.

- Terri Irwin

I think being in a car is far more dangerous. I feel much more in control with a 16 foot croc, 3,000 pounds jaw pressure trying to have a go at me.

- Terri Irwin

I went into this little reptile park, and Steve was doing the crocodile show, coincidentally... I was absolutely floored. That was it. This man was a real-life hero. I fell then and there, love at first sight.

- Terri Irwin

Crocodiles are an apex predator and crucial to the ecosystem, keeping waterways and wetlands healthy. Crocodiles eradicate the weak, sick, and injured wildlife, leaving only the healthy to prosper.

- Terri Irwin

I always am astounded at how willing Steve was to share all about himself. And sometimes he got criticized for it. But he was so open and yet so private about some things.

- Terri Irwin

I couldn't hold a candle to how adventurous Steve was. He found life intoxicating, and he was just in awe of every living creature.

- Terri Irwin

I think, some days, you wonder how you're going to get through, and other days, you find reason to be inspired again.

- Terri Irwin

You might not think of 'conservation' immediately when you think of Russell Crowe, but he is a great conservationist in his own right.

- Terri Irwin

When I first met Steve, as an American tourist coming into the zoo, I fell desperately in love with him and married him immediately.

- Terri Irwin

She's born and raised with wildlife, living with a zoo. What would be strange for Bindi is if she were in an apartment in suburbia with a goldfish.

- Terri Irwin

Steve took my counsel on everything. He appreciated that I loved business and let me do that end of it. We complemented each other and had a natural, fun competitiveness.

- Terri Irwin

No matter the circumstances are that you lose someone, nobody's truly prepared. Steve's accident was so unexpected - it was extremely challenging.

- Terri Irwin

We've got that family opportunity of always filming together, so we can look back on good times anytime we want.

- Terri Irwin

Bindi's been filming with us since she first hatched.

- Terri Irwin

I found that Steve's passion for wildlife and willingness to lay his life on the line so exciting.

- Terri Irwin

My future is about the joy of loving those around me, of being with the people who are still here and not just mourning my loss.

- Terri Irwin

Crocs are apex predators, and as with all apex predators, they are critical to the environment: if you lose the crocs, you'll lose the barramundi, you'll lose the crabs - a catfish can eat 30,000 barramundi fingerlings, and who do you think eats the catfish? Crocs.

- Terri Irwin

I'm Mrs. Steve Irwin. I've got a lot to live up to.

- Terri Irwin

For me, it was two years before I fed a big croc when I came to Australia.

- Terri Irwin

Parenthood is a great equalizer. It doesn't matter how famous you are - once you become a parent, you are just like everyone else.

- Terri Irwin

The only way to honor Steve and his legacy and everything he lived for was to try to continue his work and expand on it.

- Terri Irwin

When you take those vows and say, 'We'll be together as long as we both shall live,' I really don't think I would've married if I hadn't met Steve. And he's very special to me and continues to be.

- Terri Irwin

I'm real adamant that, when we have family time scheduled, that we stick to it.

- Terri Irwin

The thing is, Steve's a great role model, and he won't sit there and tell you that.

- Terri Irwin

I've already had my happily ever after.

- Terri Irwin

Our message, without preaching, is how to treat wildlife and to have empathy for all animals.

- Terri Irwin

Just like Steve did, Bindi's got that strange communication with wildlife. It's beautiful to watch, and it instills an empathy with all of us about just how important the animal kingdom is.

- Terri Irwin

Never walk past a problem with an animal - fix it.

- Terri Irwin

I think that kids who grow up in an environment where they are constantly told that they're wonderful... that is going to change you.

- Terri Irwin

Steve was so wonderful to bring wildlife into our living rooms and let us see that animals we used to be afraid of are so important.

- Terri Irwin

Steve always said that he didn't care if anyone remembered him, as long as they remembered his message.

- Terri Irwin

After losing Steve, it does kind of feel like I'm free-falling.

- Terri Irwin

The determination I have to try to continue Steve's work and make the world a better place is so important.

- Terri Irwin

There never has been before and never will be again another Steve Irwin.

- Terri Irwin

To get someone who is sensitive yet strong... Steve was that.

- Terri Irwin

I'll never leave. I love Australia, and I'm doing my best to be a fair dinkum Aussie sheila and honour all of Steve's work, and yeah, I'll be here the rest of my life.

- Terri Irwin

Steve said to me how excited he was when Bindi was born. He said, 'Do you think we could have a boy?' And then Robert was born, and they're perfect. They're easy kids. They're wonderful to me; they're such a help.

- Terri Irwin

I think it's wonderful when people who have lost someone find love again, but I'm not personally looking, and I haven't been on a date in 27 years. In fact, it's been so long, I've had a couple of lovely women ask me out because they figured that's the case.

- Terri Irwin

Bindi went in with the crocodiles when she was one month old and grew up with the crocodiles.

- Terri Irwin

I don't know a single surfer who would say, 'Gee, I wish there were no sharks in the ocean.'

- Terri Irwin