Her voice breaking and wiping away a tear, Bindi Irwin broke down as she recalled fearing she was having a miscarriage while pregnant with daughter Grace Warrior.
The 25-year-old wildlife warrior was suffering such severe pain from endometriosis that at times she couldn’t get out of bed, she bravely told Good Morning America.
“Along my pregnancy journey, I would often have times where I thought I was miscarrying because I would have severe unexplained pain. I would think that I was losing our beautiful daughter.”
She carried on promoting the zoo on TV despite barely being able to walk.
As well as changing her physically, Bindi has struggled mentally with her 10-year battle of being misdiagnosed, which saw her undergo tests for cancer as well as CT scans.
“Like anyone going through this, Bindi has her dark days when things get way too much,” says an insider. “Part of her constantly wonders if things would have been different had her dad not died. It wasn’t just the trauma from that young and impressionable age – it was the responsibility she knows she took on in helping the family recover.
Bindi won DWTS in the US in 2015, battling through indescribable pain.
“She saw how brave her mum was in keeping the zoo and Steve’s legacy alive, and she did everything she could to step up too, whether it was looking out for Robert while Mum worked or putting her body through hell winning Dancing With The Stars. Now she feels she’s paying the price for putting everyone else first. She feels she’s aged and she’s desperately worried about being an active mum for Grace.”
Steve always dreamed one of his kids would take on the running of the zoo.
Succession crisis
Born into Australia Zoo, it has always been a given that one day Bindi, with the support of brother Robert, 19, would take over the reins, but now she’s not sure it’s something she wants.
“She looks at her DWTS footage and can’t believe what her body was able to do,” tells our source. “She’s not the type to give up – on herself or her conservation work, but she’s starting to feel disillusioned about taking over the zoo.
Terri took on the stress of running the zoo alone when Steve died.
“She feels guilty because she knows her dad loved the zoo, but she also knows he wouldn’t want her to be struggling through pain. She’s given enough and she needs to focus on what gives her joy – Grace, Chandler [Powell, her husband] and nature. Sitting at a desk, stressing over spreadsheets and barking orders at everyone is not what she envisions.”
But it’s going to cause problems for Terri, who is banking on Bindi being an easy successor when she retires.
“She’s turning 60 next year, so it’s not that far away, but with Bindi backing out and Robert still incredibly green, Terri may have to stick around for a lot longer than she thought.”
