Are Media, Australia’s leading omnichannel content company for women, today published the March edition of The Australian Women’s Weekly – with Robert Irwin on the cover.
The Wildlife Warrior and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! host is only the third solo man in modern times to grace the magazine’s cover (the others were Hugh Jackman and Prince Harry). In an exclusive interview and photo shoot, he talks about navigating life after losing his dad and striking out in a new direction.
As the son of the late Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, Robert Irwin has spent all of his 20 years in the public spotlight, and now he has opened up about his extraordinary life in the March issue of The Australian Women’s Weekly, on sale today, Thursday 22 February.
As he prepares to front Network 10’s I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! next month, Robert, 20, reveals that his father Steve, who tragically died weeks before his third birthday, is still a major part of his life.
“There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think: ‘Gosh, I wonder what I’d ask Dad if he was here’,” he says.
“When you lose a father figure at such a young age, who’s such a commanding presence of positivity and everything that is good in the world, of course, all I want is for him to be here for me, to go, ‘What do you think about this, what do you think about that?’ There are so many things I wish I could ask him on so many levels.”
One of Robert’s most cherished childhood memories was a photoshoot with The Weekly shortly before his dad’s death aged 44 in 2006.
“I remember that day – my mum and dad tickling me so I’d be laughing and you’d get that amazing cover shot,” he smiles. “It was always the littlest tickle and I’d just start cacking myself laughing!”
In the wide-ranging interview, Robert reveals:
- His favourite shows growing up were his dad’s documentaries.
- Why his mum and dad are his greatest role models: “It was them against the world. They were fighting the good fight, shoulder to shoulder, and look at what they created together.”
- That he wants to have “a worldwide voice on coming up with solutions and unifying the next generation to make a difference for our planet”.
- The place he feels closest to his dad is Australia Zoo’s Crocoseum: “Crocs are my thing, I just love them so much. I guess it’s genetic!”
He also acknowledges the enormous debt he owes to mum Terri and big sister Bindi for protecting him after they lost Steve.
“When you are three, you don’t really even know what death means,” he explains. “Whereas for Mum and Bindi, it was pure, unfiltered devastation and loss. The way they helped me navigate my life, I am so grateful for it. I will always feel like I am missing a part of myself, but I never feel like I missed out on anything.”
For The Australian Women’s Weekly Editor Sophie Tedmanson, Robert is already a national icon.
“His unwavering dedication to wildlife conservation and genuine connection to his family make him a truly inspiring figure,” she says. “The Weekly has been there to document his whole life and we’re honoured to have him on our cover as a tribute to his work, his family’s legacy and Terri and Bindi – the remarkable women who raised him.”
Robert also features in a set of exclusive photos shot around his beloved Australia Zoo.
