Over the past month, Australian tabloid magazines have been competing for stories on an alleged relationship between Russell Crowe and Terri Irwin.
Between Woman's Day and its main competitor, New Idea, they have claimed the actor and the wife of the late Steve Irwin, both 52, are in a relationship, are "soulmates" getting married, still "in love" but have postponed the wedding, and that they are so close, Crowe was planning to walk 18-year-old Bindi Irwin down the aisle, even though she is not even engaged to her boyfriend, Chandler Powell.
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After weeks of speculation both parties denied being romantically involved, with a spokesperson for Australia Zoo claiming the reports are "false", while Crowe slammed them as "bs".
"Last week New Idea said I was getting married, now Woman's Day saying the weddings off. I have such a dramatic life in bs magazines," he tweeted to his 2.25 million followers on December 7.
On Monday, New Idea took a new direction in the Irwin and Crowe saga and announced that they are going into business together and expanding the Irwin family's Queensland-based Australia Zoo by setting up one together in California.
But a spokesperson for the Irwin family are getting a little fed up. When approached for comment on Monday about the alleged $AU340 million business venture, they thanked Fairfax Media "for checking the facts".
They continued: "All of these reports are completely false, as per usual standard of New Idea.
"Terri and Russell do not have any joint business plans in the US and we can advise with certainty that these stories have been made up in gossip mag world.
"Reports about them being romantically involved are also false," they added, sounding somewhat exasperated.
The spokesperson confirmed Irwin and Crowe have been "friends for years". Amid the reports on Monday, he retweeted a picture and message from Bindi's Twitter account paying tribute to her mother and brother Robert, 13.
"My beautiful little family. Thankful to have these two in my life. Mum and Robert, I love you. Always. You make me smile every day," Bindi shared.
The Australia Zoo spokesperson's response is in complete contrast to the unnamed source who told the magazine that a wedding was still on the cards: "They're committed to getting married and seeing their relationship go to the next level - having a business together is a natural progression of that.
"Russell convinced Terri that this would not only be a great way to earn money to support her Wildlife Warriors appeals, it would also give her a global platform to take Australia Zoo's conservation program to the next level.
"He knows how much conservation and wildlife education means to her and wanted to help her take the Australia Zoo dream global," the unnamed source added.
Irwin was made a widow when her husband of 14 years, Steve, known as The Crocodile Hunter, was killed when a short-tail stingray speared him through the chest with its dagger-like tail and punctured his heart.
Crowe separated from his wife Danielle Spencer in 2012. They have two sons together, Charles, 12, and Tennyson, 10.
My beautiful little family. Thankful to have these two in my life.
— Bindi Irwin (@BindiIrwin) December 18, 2016
Mum & Robert, I love you. Always.
You make me smile every day. pic.twitter.com/4y3d449DLv
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