Robert Irwin Details ‘Incredibly Emotional’ Moment Walking Sister Bindi Down the Aisle at Her Wedding

Bindi Irwin married Chandler Powell in March 2020 at the Australia Zoo, just as Australia was heading into lockdown at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, which meant the couple had to make a number of changes to their nuptials. One thing that didn’t change was Irwin’s decision to have her younger brother, Robert Irwin, walk her down the aisle, a moment the 17-year-old described as “amazing.”

“It was definitely just one of the most incredible moments of my entire life. I felt so honored when Bindi first asked me to walk her down the aisle,” Robert told Kelly Clarkson during a family appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show this week. “When everything was coming down to the wire and we were planning this wedding, it was really, really hard because of course there were no guests. It was a little bit chaotic, but at the end of the day it all came together and it was just the most beautiful moment ever.”

Robert added that he was “incredibly emotional” between being happy for his sister and missing their dad, Steve Irwin, who died in 2006. “Not only being so proud for Bindi and [having] such a happy day, but also thinking how much I wish that Dad could’ve been there. That was his job to walk her down the aisle,” he said. “But I felt very honored to be there, I guess sort of on his behalf. I think we definitely felt him on the day. It was incredibly emotional, but just so special. I’ll never, ever forget that. It was amazing.”

Bindi and Powell married without any guests present due to the pandemic, which Bindi called “really crazy.” “You always plan your wedding with lots of guests and I think it was just us and the animals,” she said. “Very, very small. But it was really, really special. We’re just glad to be married and to be husband and wife while taking on this wild 2020 and new 2021.”

“It’s a silver lining,” the siblings’ mom Terri Irwin added. “You’ve got to grab every silver lining you can when times are tough.” Bindi and Powell are currently expecting their first child in just a few months, and Bindi thanked fans for their well-wishes and continuing support in a new Instagram post on Tuesday.

“Sharing our deepest gratitude to YOU reading this message as we get ready for our daughter to arrive,” she wrote. “The support we have received from your kind comments, Chandler’s family in Florida, mine in Oregon, friends across the globe, our amazing Australia Zoo family – it means the world to us. Baby Wildlife Warrior is already so loved and we are eternally grateful. With all my heart, thank you.”