Bindi Irwin shares ‘devastation’ that daughter Grace will never get to meet her late father Steve

She’s the proud daughter of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin.

And this week, Bindi Irwin broke down in tears over her heartache that her father would never get to meet her newborn baby Grace, in a preview for the family’s new show Crikey! It’s A Baby! on Animal Planet.

In the footage, Bindi – alongside her husband Chandler Powell, brother Robert and mother Terri – took baby Grace to visit Australia Zoo’s ‘Crocoseum’, where Steve would love to ‘feed the crocodiles and spend time as a family’.

Reflecting on the special moment, Bindi, 22, said: ‘It’s hard knowing she’ll never get to actually meet him, and it’s devastating as I’ll never get to watch that connection.

‘But I cannot wait to be able to tell beautiful Grace all of these stories about dad, and share with her what an amazing father he was.’

As Bindi began to get emotional, she added: ‘It’s going to be really special. It’s going to be really special for her to know him, and tell her about what an amazing man he was.’

Through tears, she added that out of ‘everyone in the world’, Steve would have ‘loved Grace the most’. 

‘But I think in a way he is still with us and his heart and soul live on in all of us. He’s never really gone,’ she added.

Steve died in September 2006 at the age of 44, after being pierced in the chest by a stingray barb while filming a wildlife documentary in Queensland.

Meanwhile, Bindi and Chandler welcomed daughter Grace Warrior Irwin Powell on March 25.

The baby was born on their first wedding anniversary, one year after they wed at Australia Zoo.

Grace’s middle names are a tribute to Bindi’s late father Steve, who coined the term ‘Wildlife Warrior’ to promote his conservation efforts at Australia Zoo.