Ten years since the tragic death of her beloved husband Steve, Terri Irwin has opened up in heartbreaking detail about how she has struggled to move on following his passing.
The 52-year-old says she still feels the raw pain of losing the love of her life – even struggling to summon up the courage to cut her hair, because Steve always liked it long
‘It was important to me keeping it like that… after Steve died. It wasn’t important to anyone else, but it was important to me,’ Terri tells The Australian Women’s Weekly.
The Wildlife Warrior’s office at Australia Zoo – which is home to Terri and their children Bindi, now 18, and Robert, 12 – remains just as he left it when he departed for his fateful trip to the Great Barrier Reef in 2006.
Even his toothbrush was untouched for years afterwards, as Terri refused to say goodbye to the daily memories of her husband. It was only two years ago that Terri was finally able to remove some of Steve’s belongings from their wardrobe, so she could give the family’s property a much-needed makeover.
‘It’s been 10 years and it’s a journey that never really ends,’ Terri explains.
‘I kept Steve’s clothes, his toothbrush, and all his things in the cupboard and kept them there for years… As long as your grief is not hurting anyone else, it is all fine. If you’re leaving something familiar, whether it’s a photograph or a video or a piece of clothing – I left Steve’s sarong on the end of our bed – then I don’t understand how that is bad or wrong.’
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