Bindi Irwin is turning 16, and still isn't over the death of her dad, 'Crocodile Hunter' Steve Irwin.
Bindi Irwin is turning 16, but tells People magazine that she still isn't over the death of her dad, Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, eight years later.
After the passing of her father in 2006 due to a freak attack by a stingray, the teen says she's still coping with the loss of her parent. "I remember after we lost Dad, so many adults came up to me and said, 'Honey, time heals all wounds,'" she tells the magazine. "That is the biggest lie you will ever hear. It doesn't."
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Bindi adds, "That kind of sadness never goes away. It's like losing a piece of your heart that you never get back."
Taking after her father a bit, Bindi and the Irwin family currently reside within the Australia Zoo in Queensland, and People points out that she is a conservationist. She's also a youth ambassador for SeaWorld and plans the family's annual crocodile research excursion.
"When you lose a loved one, you come to these crossroads," she says. "You can take the path that leads you down the aisle of sadness, or you can say, 'I'm never going to let this person's memory die. I'm going to make sure everything they worked for continues.'"
As for how Bindi is coping today, she tells the magazine, "Every day is a new journey for me, and I feel like in my lifetime, I've been blessed to experience such a lot."