Bindi Irwin’s latest Instagram post has brought up the thorny issue of a family feud once again.
On Wednesday, the 28-year-old shared a family photo on Instagram that was snapped during a recent visit from her husband Chandler’s American mother and grandparents.
“Grace’s wonderful great grandparents and beautiful grandmother came to visit all the way from Florida,” Bindi captioned the post. “A week of adventures and so much love.”
In the snap, Bindi, Chandler, and their daughter Grace, posed alongside Bindi’s mother Terri and brother Rob, and Chandler’s mother and grandparents.
Noticeably missing from the photo were Grace’s other great grandparents — Bindi’s estranged grandfather Bob Snr and his second wife Judy, and it didn’t go unnoticed by fans.
“Where is Steve’s dad?” one person questioned under the snaps.
The Irwin family rift is a subject that’s long been discussed by fans.
After the sudden death of Steve Irwin in 2006, the relationship between Terri, Rob and Bindi, and Steve’s side of the family, deteriorated.
Bob Snr, who started Australia Zoo in 1970 with his then-wife Lyn, left the family business in March 2008, about 18 months after Steve’s death. He said he left the zoo after raising concerns that it was becoming “too commercial”.
“It’s a strange feeling to spend half your lifetime building something up and walking away from it,” he told ABC’s Australian Story at the time.
“I just felt that it was better for everybody concerned if I left Australia Zoo and Judy [Bob’s second wife] and I and all our friends were able to continue Steve’s work the way I believe it should be done.”
“The problem I had was that the management and I didn’t agree on certain aspects of Australia Zoo after Steve’s passing… because most times I went into Australia Zoo, I would have a different sort of opinion with somebody… or I may have an idea and it would not be listened to,” he added.
Eight years later, Steve’s sister Joy and her husband Frank also walked out of the business.
Bindi first spoke publicly about the family rift when she was attending the AACTA awards in Sydney in 2015 – and when she did so, she made claims about Bob.
“Everyone deals with grief differently. When my dad passed away, he [Bob] chose to distance himself from everything that Dad loved the most,” she said after confirming she hadn’t seen her paternal grandfather since 2008.
“At the moment we are really just respecting his wishes because he hasn’t had anything to do with us for a long time, and he decided to take his own path. That’s important, so good for him.
“There was one year where we sent birthday presents to him and he opened them up and he sent them back.”
Now, sources have given an insight into Bindi’s close relationship with her husband’s family, and revealed why it’s such an important bond.
“It’s always been really important to Bindi that Grace has a close relationship with her grandparents and extended family because that’s something she feels like she missed out on growing up,” a source close to the family tells Woman’s Day.
“She absolutely loves Chandler’s family and makes a real effort to keep them involved in Grace’s life. She’s constantly sending them photos and little updates, and they’ll FaceTime every week.
“Even though they’re not always together in person, Bindi makes sure they’re part of Grace’s everyday life because she knows how special that bond is.
“She didn’t really get to experience that herself, so she’s very conscious of making sure Grace does.”
For the wildlife warrior, milestone moments can reopen old wounds.
In 2021, Bindi was asked on social media why she hadn’t mentioned her grandfather Bob Snr on Father’s Day – causing her to open up about the fractured relationship in a Facebook comment.
“I really wish that my entire family could spend time with [my daughter] Grace. Unfortunately, my grandfather Bob has shown no interest in spending time with me or my family,” she replied.
“Publicly he continues to claim that he wants to spend time with us while privately my entire life has been psychological abuse from him,” she continued. “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, preferring to spend time doing anything else rather than being with me.”
She also said her grandfather had never “said a kind word” to her and that the family had been financially supporting him for almost three decades.
“We have also been his financial support since 1992 when he retired from Australia Zoo, sending him funds every week,” she wrote.
“We built him a house on a beautiful property and will always do our best to ensure his wellbeing. I want Bob’s happiness in life but I cannot be victim to his mental abuse anymore.”
In response, Bindi’s cousin Toni Johnstone, who’s the daughter of Steve’s other sister Mandy, jumped to her grandfather’s defence.
“I honestly cannot believe how [Bindi] can [accuse Bob of these things] and then preach ‘let’s be kind to one another’ in the same post,” she replied.
“Let’s hope [Bindi and Terri] remember who built the zoo that made them who they are today.”
According to insiders, Bindi is now determined to put the family rift behind her and focus on creating the best childhood possible for Grace.
“It is hard for Bindi when people bring up Bob whenever she posts about a special occasion or a family moment,” our insider spills.
“People don’t know the full story, and she doesn’t feel like she needs to explain what happened or defend her decisions. She made peace with the fact that that relationship was broken a long time ago, and she’s not looking to change that.”
The insider went on to say that her focus is now on Grace and “making sure she grows up surrounded by love and family”.
“Her focus now is really on Grace and making sure she grows up surrounded by love and family. “Bindi doesn’t want Grace to ever have to experience the kind of painful family situation that she went through herself,” the source adds.
“If anything, she’s taken those experiences and used them to make sure Grace has a very different childhood.”
