Robert Irwin: Tragic Details About Steve Irwin's Son

Steve Irwin's son, Robert Irwin, carries on his dad's legacy in many ways. However, having his life defined by his famous father's death was never easy. Years have passed since the reality TV star died during production of the documentary "Ocean's Deadliest" from a short-tail stingray injury on September 4, 2006, but his son is asked about it constantly. In 2024, a TikTok video went viral for pointing this out. "If people talked to everyone like they do Robert Irwin," reads the onscreen caption of a man enacting a casual conversation before abruptly going, "Hey, remember when your dad died 18 years ago?" 

This is a tricky scenario to navigate, especially when it involves a popular icon, like Robert's father was. Setting gentle, but consistent, boundaries can help. "It's healthy to protect yourself when those moments feel too sharp. You might say, 'I appreciate that, but it's hard for me right now.' That honesty gives you a sense of control," Dr. Nona Kocher, Miami board-certified psychiatrist, told Nicki Swift. Another strategy involves dedicating time to remembering the loved one.

Private rituals that honor the dead give structure to the grieving process. "These rituals help you stay connected without being caught off guard," Kocher said. While the constant questions might be intrusive and out of place, talking about the grief is important. "The goal isn't to erase the grief but to make room for it so it no longer runs the show," she said. After so many years, Robert has learned a thing or two about grieving in the public sphere, but it has been a painful journey.

Because Robert Irwin was just two years old when Steve Irwin died, he grew up without a father. The loss left a big hole in his life that will never close. "When it happens, it is horrible. It doesn't matter what situation you're in, whoever it is, anyone who's in your life and who you love that's gone, it's gonna hit you like a train," he said on the "Mental As Anyone with J.Mo" podcast in 2024 (via The Daily Telegraph).

Robert has also had to come to terms with the realization that he was never going to get over Steve's death. "You don't ever really go wake up one day and go, 'Okay, all right, I've moved on, I'm good,'" he explained. "It's just not it, you will never move on." Instead, he learned to live with the pain, doing his best to reframe it in a positive light. "It's this shadow that you've always got that eventually, instead of it just being within you, consuming every day, it walks beside you," he said.

In the long process, Terri Irwin helped him cope by keeping Steve's legacy alive but not allowing the grief to take over his and Bindi Irwin's lives, ensuring they grew up in a loving environment. "I always felt, obviously, I was missing a very big part of my life, but she made sure that I never felt I missed out," he told People in October 2025. "I got to have such an incredible childhood."

Robert Irwin has virtually no memories of Steve Irwin. He was just too young. Having his life defined by the all-encompassing presence of a late father he had no recollections of made his grief and search for identity that much harder. "[That added] an extra element of odd," she said in the "Mental As Anyone" podcast (via MamaMia). However, he was able to piece together a pretty clear image of his father thanks to those who kept him alive, particularly Terri and Bindi Irwin.

"I'm very lucky, because I'm still around a lot of the people that were closest to Dad, the people who influenced my life most, and so it's just constant stories. It's the little faded memories that I've got," he said. Robert also considers himself privileged for having endless footage of his dad thanks to "The Crocodile Hunter," which has allowed him to develop a sense of closeness. "I'll often come across archive footage that I haven't seen before," he told People in September 2025. "And all of a sudden, his memory just starts flooding back."

Even though he barely had any time with Steve, his father is an enduring presence in his everyday life. "I feel as though I get a little part of him back in some way, in every conversation I have about him, or any new story I hear about him, or in any new photo that I haven't seen before," he said. 

Robert Irwin learned a powerful lesson when his maternal grandfather, Clarence Raines (seen above with Bindi Irwin), was diagnosed with dementia. "It's devastating," he said on Australia's TV show "The Sunday Project" (via the New York Post). "Someone you love, someone you're close to you see going through that and just not being able to relive and enjoy the moments they had." Raines died in 2009, when Robert was 6.

Robert, whose middle name is Clarence after his grandfather, hoped to inspire others to prioritize spending time with family because nothing is ever guaranteed. "It just reminds you you've got to spend every second with the people you love and really surround yourself with love and light and hopefully this is light at the end of the tunnel for a safe way for people to stop this," he added. Clarence was an important piece in the Irwins' relationship with conservationism, as Terri Irwin's passion for wildlife stemmed from him.

When she was growing up, her father often brought home injured animals he found on the road to nurse them back to health. After falling in love with it, Terri opened her own rehabilitation center, Cougar Country, which eventually led to Steve Irwin. On Memorial Day in May 2025, Terri paid tribute to her late father, who was a U.S. Navy veteran who served in World War II. "Thinking of my dad today ... He passed away 16 years ago, and I miss him dearly," she captioned the Instagram post. 

Robert Irwin didn't just lose his father when Steve Irwin died. In the aftermath of the stingray accident, his family also became fractured amid a fallout between his mother and his paternal grandfather. Terri Irwin and Bob Irwin (seen above), the founder of Australia Zoo and Robert's namesake, had experienced disagreements over management of the famed wildlife park. However, the tension between Steve's father and his widow led to estrangement.

Even though Robert was too young to have a say in any of it, he grew up with little to no contact with his grandfather. According to Bindi Irwin, the estrangement had wide-ranging consequences for her and her little brother. In a 2021 since-deleted Instagram post, Bindi accused Bob of purposefully ignoring his grandchildren as retaliation against Terri. "He has returned gifts I've sent him after he opened them, he has ignored my correspondence and from the time I was a little girl he has ignored me," she wrote (via 7News).

However, Robert and Bindi have reportedly since tried to reconnect with their grandfather. "Behind the scenes, Robert and Bindi would be quietly encouraging their mum to try and mend the rift once and for all," a source told Women's Day in June 2025. But they are said to have faced pushback from their mother, who reportedly confronted Bindi after learning she had plans to meet with Bob in 2024. "[Bindi]'s realized the bitter family feud ... has finally taken its toll," a source told Radar.

As Steve Irwin's son, Robert Irwin was born into the family trade. He was exactly a month and one day old when Steve sparked major controversy for feeding a crocodile while holding his newborn pretty dang close to the animal's mouth. By age 8, he was feeding crocodiles on his own (seen above). While he has loved every minute of it, Robert has struggled with his identity at times. "All my life all I've ever wanted was to be exactly like Dad, but also to find my own place in his world," he told The Courier Mail in 2023.

That's why he went into photography. Photography has allowed Robert to combine his work as a conservationist while delving into a field that is completely his own. Growing up around cameras, his interest in photography wasn't random. "I had a real fascination for them, especially the mechanics of them," he said. He started practicing at age 6 with a point-and-shoot, but his talents flourished a few years later.

"After I got my first Canon DSLR, an EOS 700D, at age 10 and discovered the artistic opportunities that photography afforded, my passion quickly grew," he said in a feature article for Canon. Russell Shakespeare, who photographed the Irwins for years, eventually noticed young Robert's interest. "Russell was really the first person who was willing to turn the camera around from me, to me," he explained. In 2021, he won People's Choice Award for Wildlife Photography, proving he has what it takes.