On Wednesday evening, the 17-year-old attended the 5th annual AACTA Awards in Sydney, where she chatted to the Daily Mail Australia.
Bindi finally spoke about ongoing speculation about the alleged rift between her paternal grandfather, Bob Irwin, and her family following the tragic death of her father Steve in 2006.
“Everyone deals with grief differently,” she told the website. “When my dad passed away he chose to distance himself from everything that dad loved the most.”
Before adding, “At the moment we’re really just respecting his wishes because he hasn’t had anything to do with us for a long time and he decided his own path. That’s important so good for him.”
Following the death of his son, Steve, Bod Irwin has distanced himself from the family.
In September 2006 at just 44 years old, Steve sadly passed away after suffering a fatal injury from a sting-ray while filming a wildlife documentary.
Bob Irwin, who left Australia Zoo in 2008, has admitted he isn’t in contact with his crocodile hunter’s son’s kids but he is still very proud of Bindi’s recent win.
“I don’t like to talk about family matters but no we are not in contact,” he said to the Herald Sun earlier this month. “It’s sad but it’s just the way things are.”
Bob wishes he was closer to Steve’s kids.
Meanwhile when Woman’s Day Australia caught up with the talented dancer at the event, she was still on cloud nine from her Dancing with the Stars triumph.
Despite raking in a whopping $USD350,000 pay cheque, the Aussie local won’t be splashing out on any extravagant purchases.
“For me, my heart and soul lies in conservation so everything that I make and everything that I do goes directly back into wildlife conservation. I have a non-profit organisation called Wildlife Warriors so that’s where my money will go,” she explained to Woman’s Day on how she’ll be spending her prize money.
