Newlyweds Bindi Irwin, 21, and Chandler Powell, 23, have been forced to cancel their honeymoon in a bid to save Australia Zoo from financial ruin.
WATCH: Bindi Irwin Gushes Over Chandler Powell
The zoo has taken a hit thanks to the COVID-19 restrictions and the cash-strapped pair are doing all they can to help matriarch Terri Irwin keep the gates open – including forgoing their post-wedding getaway.
In a trailer for upcoming TV special Crikey! It’s the Irwins: Life in Lockdown, the wife of the late Steve Irwin reveals just how dire things have become at the famous zoo.
“The pandemic has severely affected Australia Zoo financially… I can’t even come close to paying bills. We’re having to stand down staff and it’s very emotional,” Terri, 55, says.
According to Terri, $400,000 per week – which is around 52 percent of the park’s income – is spent on the salaries of the park’s staff members alone.
Bindi reveals that she and Chandler had to put their plans on the backburner for the good of the family business.
“We had originally planned to do a road trip for our honeymoon,” Bindi says.
“It’s really scary trying to make do with a limited number of staff, and to take care of 1,200 animals.”
Australia Zoo wasn’t the only part of Bindi’s life that was affected by coronavirus restrictions. She also had to rush to tie the knot with her 23-year-old wakeboarder beau Chandler when restrictions around wedding guests were announced in March.
She later took to Instagram to reflect on how the day was far from how she imagined it would be.
The 21-year-old shared a candid photo of herself and Chandler on their big day and confessed it didn’t turn out the way it was supposed to.
“This isn’t the fairytale image capturing the ‘perfect’ wedding day feeling. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. This picture was taken after we had to change our entire wedding,” Bindi captioned.
The wildlife warrior, who began dating Chandler in 2013 after meeting at Australia Zoo, explained that their plans had to change as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, but their friends and family encouraged them to get married regardless.
“We decided not to have wedding guests due to the global crisis for everyone’s health and safety. Our family and friends couldn’t be there to celebrate with us. However, they all encouraged us to continue on and get married,” she revealed.
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