Woman’s Day speaks with Steve’s best mate, the man helping to heal the Irwin family’s broken hearts.
He has the same big heart, infectious enthusiasm and larrikin swagger. Wes Mannion, Steve’s “best mate” and the director of Australia Zoo, could almost be Steve Irwin. He’s so close to grieving Terri Irwin and her children Bindi and Bob that US magazines Globe and National Enquirer have controversially called him the kids’ “new dad”.
But now Wes, who’s happily married with a two-year-old son, is speaking out to Woman’s Day about the truth behind his close relationship with the Irwins.
“I love Terri, she is [like] my sister, love her to death. Most importantly, I owe it to Stevie to look after her. I know that if I’d died, Stevie would have been like a lion with my family,” says Wes.
And Wes is one of the main father figures in the lives of Steve’s children, Bindi and Robert, admitting that he is helping Terri raise the kids.
“I’ll never be their dad, you can never replace your father, but I’ll be a father figure and loving uncle,” he says.
Read the full interview in Woman’s Day (on-sale December 17).
More about the Irwin family
Visit the Steve Irwin Day tribute
Your say: When do you think is the right time for Terri to start dating again?
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