Robert Irwin will honor his mother, Terri Irwin, on this week’s episode of Dancing With the Stars. Irwin and his partner, Witney Carson, are set to perform an emotional dance routine set to the 2002 Phil Collins hit “You’ll Be in My Heart” as part of the show’s “Dedication Night.”
Irwin, a 21-year-old wildlife conservationist, is known as the son of the beloved “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, who died in 2006 at the age of 44. Following Steve’s untimely death, Terri raised Irwin and his older sister, Bindi, on her own. Irwin’s performance will serve as a tribute to his mother for all that she’s done for their family.
Ahead of Tuesday night’s performance, Irwin made candid posts on both Instagram and TikTok, detailing the “emotional” week of rehearsals he’s endured. Included in the post are images of Irwin and Carson practicing their routine, as well as a family photo of a young Irwin with Steve, Terri and Bindi. The carousel ends on a selfie of Irwin and Carson with Terri in the DWTS rehearsal space.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about my mum and her strength, I’ve been reminiscing on the times we’ve spent as a family and how she has kept my dad part of my life,” Irwin wrote alongside the carousel of photos. “This dance is for my mum, it’s for anyone who’s lost someone … and it’s for all the strong mothers of the world who deserve our recognition and appreciation ❤️.”
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Robert Irwin (@robertirwinphotography)
Irwin also spoke candidly of his “emotional” and “beautiful” week in an update he shared on TikTok on Oct. 12.
“We’ve been working on our dedication dance for my mum, which has been beautiful. It’s been the most incredible experience. Witney and I are trying to capture just her strength and the way she has lifted me up throughout my life, and how we’ve tried to kind of lift each other up,” he said.
The 21-year-old said that the rehearsal process has led to him “tapping into emotions that I haven’t really gotten to share before.” Because of this, Irwin added, “I’ve been thinking a lot about my dad … the highs and the lows, the grief, the way my mum’s helped me navigate that.”
In the update, Irwin also disclosed that the cancer battle of their family dog Stella has also been weighing heavily on his mind.
“I feel like this dance has just been a culmination of so much emotion,” he added. “I just want this to be a point of vulnerability. I want this to be a dance, not only for my mum, but for all of the mums out there who don’t get the recognition they deserve. I want this to be a dance for anyone who’s lost someone.”
Irwin concluded his update by sharing his hopes for how viewers respond to Tuesday night’s dance.
“I am excited for you to see this,” he said. “I’m excited for Tuesday night. And I hope this dance can help people, because it’s certainly helped me.”
Irwin is in his fifth week on Dancing With the Stars. He garnered praise from judge Derek Hough for his debut performance, with Hough calling it “the best first dance I’ve ever seen on the show.” That evening, Irwin was tied for the top spot on the DWTS leaderboard with a score of 15/20.
