Meet Bindi Irwin’s Fiance Chandler Powell

Bindi Irwin announced her engagement to boyfriend Chandler Powell on Wednesday, July 24, with the proposal taking place at the Australia Zoo on Irwin’s 21st birthday.

“On my birthday I said ‘yes’ and ‘forever’ to the love of my life,” the Discovery Kids host captioned her post sharing the news. “Chandler, close to 6 years ago I fell in love with you and every day since has been a whirlwind of adventure and true happiness. I’m so looking forwarding to spending our forever together as your wife. Here’s to a lifetime of friendship, purpose and unconditional love. — Now let’s get married already!”

Irwin and Chandler have been dating for six years after originally meeting at the Australia Zoo, which Powell noted in his own caption announcing the engagement.

“I immediately fell head over heels for her kind and thoughtful heart that radiates so much light,” he shared. “Proposing in her very favorite place in the zoo, surrounded by animals, seemed like the perfect way to embark on this incredible new chapter in our lives. Bee, I love you more than anything in this world and I always will.”

Here are five things to know about 22-year-old Powell:

He’s an animal lover.

The Irwin family is known for their wildlife conservation efforts and love of animals, so it’s pretty much a given that Powell has a passion for animals as well. Since dating Bindi, Powell has become a Global Ambassador for the family’s Wildlife Warriors program and now works at the Australia Zoo in Queensland.

He’s American.

Powell hails from the United States, growing up in Seffner, Florida and attending the University of Central Florida, where he reportedly majored in marketing, according to SheKnows. In 2018, he relocated from Florida to Australia to live with the Irwins.

He’s a former professional wakeboarder.

Powell began competing professionally at age 15, earning sponsorships and traveling for competitions, though he hasn’t competed since 2016. In fact, he and his fiancée met when Powell was in Australia for a wakeboarding competition in 2013 and decided to stop by the Australia Zoo. Bindi was giving tours that day, and Powell told PEOPLE that the couple “hit it off right away” and “haven’t looked back since.”

He enjoys being athletic.

Powell actually started out skateboarding before making the switch to wakeboarding, and he also stays active by surfing, a perfect pastime to pick up now that he lives in Australia.

The Irwin family approves.

Bindi previously joked during Dancing With the Stars in 2015 that she doesn’t know who’s a bigger fan of Powell — her, or her younger brother, Robert Irwin.

“My brother approves,” she said. “I don’t know who loves him more – me or Robert.”

Mom Terri Irwin also shared her appreciation for Powell in a tweet celebrating the couple’s engagement.

Photo Credit: Getty / John Wolfsohn