Bindy Irwin recently bagged the Dancing with the Stars mirror ball trophy and things are going pretty well for the 17-year-old.
She recently told The Austalian Women’s Weekly about her crazy year and more of her personal life, including her relationship with boyfriend Chandler Powell, a 19-year-old professional wake boarder.
“My mum has always described him as an old-fashioned gentleman. He’s always there to keep me going. He’s a sweet, sweet person. He’s the first person I’ve met who understands my life – the travel and the work and that real dedication and determination. I think that’s why I love him so much – because he gets my world," said the teenager.
According to People, Irwin met Powell while he was in Australia for a wake boarding competition and ended up going to the Australia Zoo where Irwin gave him a tour. They kept in touch ever since. "We talk every day and are together every two to three months," Irwin said. "Thankfully I've found someone who is an outdoors kind of person. We'll go have adventures or picnic in the park."
Irwin also talked about the anxiety that she experienced when her father, Steve Irwin died when she was only eight years old. "It was really bad when I was younger, now I just have this sense that I want to protect them, so it's always 'be safe' and 'I love you.' When your superhero dies, that's really scary," she admitted. "The strongest person has been taken away, so what about everyone else?"
Entertainment Tonight reported that “Dancing with the Stars” helped in the healing process for her loss. "It changed my life, because I was able to close those chapters that I'd never really been able to close before. It really gave me an opportunity to say, 'Okay, I can be at peace with it, and I'm okay'," said the young Irwin.