Bindi Irwin and her husband, Chandler Powell, are taking their relationship to the next
level.
After more than five years of dating, the lovebirds announced that they got engaged,
and they later married.
But just what is there to know about Bindi's husband?
This is the truth about Chandler Powell.
Unlike the Irwins, Chandler Powell isn't a native of the land down under, even though
that's where he first met his wife when he visited the Australia Zoo in 2013.
Thanks to a little bit of luck on that fateful day, the pair were introduced to one another
- something Powell remembers very well.
He recalled in an interview with People magazine,
"It just so happened that Bindi was giving tours that day.
I'm like, 'Wow she is amazing.'"
Bindi also has very fond memories of the day they met, calling the moment "incredible"
on an episode of Dancing With the Stars.
But after that, Powell had to return to his home state of Florida, which is a long way
from Australia.
Clearly though, their romance was set in motion, and they didn't forget each other.
When Powell met Bindi, he was in the midst of a professional career in wakeboarding,
something he began doing as a teenager.
"Hey guys!
So I'm Chandler Powell, we're out here wrapping up the third day of national points championship."
He shared in an interview with Plant City Observer,
"I started right before my 13th birthday and got sponsored at the end of 2010, so I was
14 at the time.
It's pretty quick, but since [the wake park] McCormick's is right next to my house I was
going every day.
I pretty much had no excuse not to."
It takes a lot of discipline to be a committed athlete at such a young age, so we're pretty
impressed.
By the time Powell was 17 years old, he was a full-on professional, and was ready to take
his wakeboarding career to the next level as he loved the work.
He continued,
"I love how you can be creative.
You can make tricks your own with different grabs, and rails you can do whatever you want
with.
You can have your own style and separate yourself from everyone else."
Powell left his wakeboarding career behind when he moved to Australia to be with Bindi,
but you can see for yourself how good he was by checking out some of his moves online.
One of the perks of being a professional wakeboarder is traveling the world for competitions.
That's what brought Powell to Australia in the first place, as well as to far-flung locations
like Thailand, the Philippines, China, and, yes, even Texas.
Chandler revealed in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times,
"I have friends who have never even been out of Florida, so when I tell them I'm going
to Texas it's a big deal.
When I go out of the country they get pretty jealous."
Even though Powell has left his career as a wakeboarder behind, he's still traveling
the world.
He's been to the South of France, Venice, Rome, and Singapore, to name just a few.
Before Powell was called to the world of wakeboarding, he had another passion, something that was
nurtured very early on in his life.
His mother, Shannan, explained in an interview with the Tampa Bay Times,
"One of his relatives gave him a skateboard when he turned 3 and we all thought it was
a little crazy."
Bindi's hubby took to skateboarding right away, and he would practice on his skateboard
often.
His mother continued,
"He would go out in the yard and dramatically fall off of it all the time.
Looking back, what I think he was doing was teaching himself how to fall the right way."
By the time that Powell was 4 years old, his parents had built him a half-pipe in the backyard
so he could perfect his moves.
When Powell relocated from Florida to Australia to be with his lady love full-time, he gave
up his wakeboarding career, which couldn't have been an easy decision.
Fortunately, however, he's also become a full-time Wildlife Warrior alongside his wife, which
he enjoys tremendously.
He told Entertainment Tonight,
"It's amazing to be part of such an incredible cause and to work for Steve's legacy and to
do [so] alongside the most beautiful girl in the world.
It's such fulfilling work.
I love it."
Working at the Australia Zoo is a natural fit for Powell, as he was exposed to plenty
of similar wildlife in his home state, especially when he was out wakeboarding.
He continued,
"Being in lakes, we had turtles and alligators and snakes, and I love wildlife and conserving
it and teaching people about it.
Now to do it full-time is incredible."
So even though he's half a world away from the Sunshine State, he feels right at home
in Australia and hasn't looked back once.
It's been several years since Powell first donned the iconic khaki uniform of the Australia
Zoo, symbolizing his official assimilation into the Irwin family.
But interestingly enough, Powell has been an Irwin fan for much longer than that, according
to Terri Irwin.
She revealed in an interview with E! News,
"What's kind of ironic is I was talking to Chandler's mother, and he was an avid Crocodile
Hunter fan when he was little.
So he used to put on the big khaki shirt and go to school when he was in first grade and
pretend to be Steve."
Perhaps that's why he went to visit the zoo in the first place in 2013.
As for whether or not the late Crocodile Hunter would approve of Powell, Terri had some thoughts
on the subject, saying,
"I think because Chandler's a nice person and really kind to Bindi that he'd be very
happy."
We like the idea of Steve smiling down on the newest addition to his family.
If you follow Chandler Powell or his wife on Instagram, you know that they often appear
in each other's pictures and videos, gazing adoringly at one another.
But both of them also post pictures of Powell flashing his million dollar smile along with
the rest of the Irwin family, which is so sweet it almost gives you cavities.
As it turns out, those captured moments aren't just made up for Instagram, as the Irwin clan
really does think the world of Bindi Irwin's husband - something that gives Bindi some
serious warm fuzzies.
She gushed in a 2016 interview with Entertainment Tonight,
"I'm so glad that my family loves him too.
They may even love him more than I do, I think.
I have my family and then Chandler has become a part of the family, so I'm happy with where
I'm at."
Indeed, it seems that Powell was destined to become one of the Irwins and has truly
earned his khakis.
Bindi added,
"He just understands us, he loves wildlife, loves wild places and is just ready to try."
What a perfect fit!
"I am the luckiest man alive.
I mean, how lucky am I?"
When Chandler Powell first encountered Bindi Irwin at the Australia Zoo, he was 100 percent
smitten.
But he didn't try and get her phone number that day, or ask Irwin out on a date.
Rather, he took a more nuanced approach, as he presumably didn't want to come off as creepy
or overbearing.
To that end, he asked his brother to reach out to Irwin to see if she was interested
in hearing from him.
Of course, she was, and she told Powell's brother that she'd like that very much.
But instead of contacting her directly at that point, Powell wanted to be a bit more
formal when stating his intentions.
So he instead wrote a letter to Irwin's mom, asking if he could get in touch with her daughter,
which turned out to be a winning strategy.
Bindi recalled in an interview with 9Honey,
"Finally, after all that, mom came to me and said, 'Who is this guy?
Is he real, and why aren't you two together?'"
"And then Mum gave the letter to me and said, 'Is this person real?
And then we've stayed in touch ever since."
"That's so gentlemanly."
You can tell that Chandler and Bindi are crazy about each other just by looking at them together,
as they're always smiling and giving each other sweet looks.
Plus, in addition to their mutually adorable Instagram posts, both Powell and Irwin have
said really sweet things about each other on more than one occasion in interviews.
In particular, Irwin has praised Powell for bringing out the best in her.
She shared in an interview with Us Weekly,
"We balance each other out very well.
Chandler's really kind."
Irwin also appreciates the way that Powell naturally helps her be her best self.
She continued,
"He is so consistently supportive and is always there for me and he reminds me to take care
of me and not to do too much all at once, which is really nice.
He keeps me grounded instead of flying away with all my dreams and goals."
Not only is Chandler Powell incredibly kind and, at times, old-fashioned, he's also become
"very good" at giving gifts, according to Bindi Irwin.
She revealed in an interview with Entertainment Tonight,
"He's better off giving me hints leading up to my birthday, rather than [me going] crazy
wanting to know what he's gotten me."
That's because Irwin admits she's not the best with surprises, so it's fitting that
he doesn't let her guess too much.
For example, on one of Irwin's birthdays, Powell decided to surprise her not with one
present but with many.
She explained,
"He decided that he'd get me a sequence of gifts.
He actually told me one of them.
He said, 'You love English Breakfast tea so much.'
That's my favorite kind of tea, [so] he wanted to give English Breakfast tea from England."
Chances are he'll never forget an anniversary with that kind of dedication.
In order to hack it in khakis at the Australia Zoo, you have to be confident in your abilities,
and you definitely can't be afraid of dangerous animals.
Fortunately, Bindi's husband Chandler is a total natural with wildlife, something Irwin
totally adores about him.
"Good girl!
You can be free.
This is your home."
She told ET,
"No challenge is too difficult for Chandler, whether it's jumping on crocodiles or going
through with a red carpet event like tonight.
He's always there and up for anything."
That's the Irwin spirit!
Bindi didn't stop there, either, as she had additional praise to heap onto her sweetie,
saying,
"I'm so lucky.
I'm so lucky to have found my person so early on in life.
He's the best guy!"
Not to be outdone, Powell returned the compliment, saying,
"I am the luckiest man alive.
I have the most beautiful girl in the world, [and] I got the best family out of it."
Clearly the love-fest is nonstop with this couple.
"He's wonderful, and I'm so lucky that he loves wildlife and adventure, and he's just
up for anything."
It's abundantly clear that Chandler Powell believes in love at first sight, as it's something
he's not shy about discussing.
He shared in an interview with 9Honey,
"You know instantly when you meet your person in life."
That was certainly the case when he met Bindi, as he said it felt like they had known each
other for years, even though it was the first time they met.
It didn't take long for Powell to develop some pretty intense feelings.
He continued,
"I fell in love instantly, and we've never looked back.
I knew [she] was someone I wanted to be around the rest of my life, and just immediately
fell in love with [her]."
Of course, Irwin totally reciprocates Powell's feelings, and says her feelings developed
just as fast as his did.
Honestly, it sounds like a fairy tale, but that's how it really happened.
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