Terri Irwin - Widowhood

Widowhood

Terri and her children were reportedly trekking in Cradle Mountain, Tasmania, when her husband Steve died on the morning of September 4, 2006 after sustaining chest and heart injuries from a short-tail stingray barb which pierced his heart. He was filming an underwater documentary at the time at Batt Reef near Port Douglas in Queensland.

In her first statement since her husband's death on September 4, 2006, Terri announced the Australian memorial service on September 20, 2006, at Australia Zoo in Queensland, would be open to the public, and that people who wish to attend should make a donation to Irwin's "Wildlife Warriors" fund. The service was held at the "Crocoseum," a 5,500-seat open-air amphitheater, which Steve built at the zoo and which Terri chose over any larger facility. She also thanked well-wishers for their "overwhelming outpouring of love, support and prayers for family". Terri herself was seemingly too upset to speak at the ceremony. She remained with her young son, Bob, during the proceedings, but her daughter Bindi spoke about her love for her father, for which she received a standing ovation.

Australian TV network Channel 9 screened an interview between Terri and local presenter Ray Martin, on Wednesday 27 September, at 8:30pm on the station. During the interview, she said "And I'll make Australia Zoo bigger. I'll make it bigger... because I promised." Barbara Walters announced on The View she would be holding an exclusive interview with Terri, which aired September 27 in the US.

On October 31, 2006 she was invited to the Royal Albert Hall to award a Special Recognition Award to Sir David Attenborough at the British National Television Awards. When she came on stage, the entire audience gave her a standing ovation out of recognition for her bravery in light of her husband's death. She fought back tears in appreciation of the British people, while the camera cut to Neighbours star Alan Fletcher, who was shown to be fighting back tears also. She cited Attenborough as a great inspiration for her late husband, saying "If there's one person, other than his father, who directly inspired my husband, it's the person being honoured tonight." and going on to say " real, true love was conservation- and the influence of tonight's recipient in preserving the natural world has been immense."

Attenborough reciprocated by praising her husband for introducing many to the natural world, saying "He taught them how wonderful and exciting it was; he was a born communicator."

On 3 January 2007, the only video footage showing the events that led to Irwin's death was handed over to Terri, who said the video would never become public, and noted her family has not seen the video either. In an 11 January 2007 interview with Access Hollywood, Terri said "all footage has been destroyed." On March 2, 2008 it was announced that Bob Irwin, father of Steve Irwin, had resigned from Australia Zoo, of which he was the founder, in order to "keep his son's dream alive" on a different property with his wife. In a statement to the press, the elder Irwin thanked the staff for all their help but made no mention of Terri whatsoever. At the same time, the zoo was being sued for $2.5 million by a debt collection agency, but the lawsuit was later dropped in an out-of-court settlement.