“I haven’t had an invite to the wedding”: Bob Irwin hasn't spoken to Bindi for 10 years.

When Bindi Irwin marries her longtime boyfriend, Chandler Powell, at Australia Zoo in 2020, her grandfather, Bob Irwin will not be there to celebrate.

Speaking exclusively to The Courier Mail, the 80-year-old environmentalist and conservationist said thus far, neither he nor his wife, Judy, have been invited by the young couple. And they don’t expect to be. After all, he hasn’t seen his grandchildren in over a decade.

Watch: Bindi Irwin’s emotional Dancing With The Stars tribute to her late father. Post continues below.

Despite this, the father of the late Steve Irwin, was adamant that there is no family feud between him and his son’s family – Terri, Bindi, and 15-year-old Robert.

Instead, he says such rumours are untrue and “upsetting,” referencing a particularly accusatory article that was published shortly after the couple’s engagement in July 2019 that interpreted his ‘no comment’ on the happy news as sign of a deep rift.

It was that article that encouraged Bob and Judy to write to Bindi, 21, and her fiancé, congratulating them on their engagement and wishing them a “long, happy future together”. They’re yet to hear back.

“Although a lot of untruths and rubbish and absolute garbage have been written by scumbags in the past, you reach a point where you’ve had enough. It’s important everybody knows the truth, not just Bob and Bindi,” he told the publication.

“No, I haven’t had an invite to the wedding and, to be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t expect to be invited to the wedding.”

 

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A post shared by Bindi Irwin (@bindisueirwin) on Sep 5, 2019 at 1:11pm PDT

Rumours of family tension between Bindi, Robert and Terri and Bob intensified in 2015 in the weeks after Bindi – then 17 – won the US Dancing with the Stars. Praising his granddaughter from afar, Bob told the Herald Sun that he was “so proud of her and what she’s achieved”.

“She seems to be able to take on everything that life throws at her — she’s definitely got an amazing future ahead of her,” he said.

When asked if he had directly spoken with Bindi, Bob admitted they weren’t in touch.

“I don’t like to talk about family matters but no we are not in contact,” he said.

“It’s sad but it’s just the way things are.”

 

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f a m i l y • a l w a y s ❤️

A post shared by Bindi Irwin (@bindisueirwin) on Aug 29, 2019 at 2:24pm PDT

According to Getty records, Bob was last publicly seen with the Irwin family in 2007 at the Steve Irwin Memorial Day at Australia Zoo, the year after Steve’s death. Speculation of a family rift then began in 2008 when Bob resigned from Australia Zoo, due to differences in opinion when it came to operating the attraction.

Bob and his late wife, Lyn Irwin, opened what was then known as the Beerwah Reptile Park in 1970, before transforming the wildlife enclosure to the internationally renowned Australia Zoo in 1992. In 2004, full legal ownership was transferred to Steve and Terri, however Bob told The Courier Mail that he hasn’t spoken to Terri, or visited Australia Zoo since his resignation. Despite this, he maintains there’s “no animosity” between the two.

Now, Bob lives a private life with his wife at Camp Chilli, a 260ha private property in Kingaroy, an agricultural town home to just over 10,000 Queenslanders. When asked about his relationship with his grandchildren, the retiree says he just wants the best for them.

“I want (Bindi and Robert, 15) to be able to do what they want from day to day, enjoy life, enjoy the animals, achieve things, without worrying about things that should never be presented to them (like that article),” he says.

“Much the same as any other parent or grandparent, I would wish (Bindi and Chandler) all the best — which I do — and hope things go really, really well.”

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