Bindi Irwin Says Her Late Father Steve Would Love Her Boyfriend
When you start dating someone new, your father's approval means the world, so we couldn't be happier to learn that Bindi Irwin believes her father "would have loved" her boyfriend Chandler Powell.
Since Steve Irwin's death in 2006, Bindi has continued his conservation legacy. Her passion for wildlife is one that she now shares with her boyfriend Chandler Powell, who in many ways embodies the same bright spirit her father did.
"I'm lucky I have found the one, the person I want to spend all of my time with," Bindi, 19, said in the November issue of Australian Women's Weekly. "Mum and Robert and I have talked about that a lot. We think dad would have loved Chandler."
The two met in 2013, when Bindi took Chandler, 20, and his family on a private tour of the Australia Zoo in Queensland. They did not exchange numbers that day, but he eventually reached out to her mother, Terri, to ask if he could keep in touch with Bindi.
After exchanging letters for months, the couple finally reunited in the U.S. and began dating in July 2015. Before she publicly revealed their relationship at a Dancing with the Stars red carpet event, Bindi told Entertainment Tonight about the qualities she is looking for in a partner.
"He would have to be very kind and loyal," she said. "You've got to love the outdoors, you've got to be able to go camping and love wildlife and have that same passion for making the world a better place."
Based on Chandler's sweet birthday wish to his girlfriend on Instagram, it is clear that he is checking all of Bindi's boxes. And not only does he support her love for the outdoors, he is also learning the ropes at the zoo (while wearing khaki, to boot!), something Steve would surely be happy about.
"Dad always said you can't date till you're 40, and he has to be able to swim across our largest crocodile pond before he can go out with you," Bindi told ET.
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