Anew Mirrorball champion has been crowned: Robert Irwin and his professional partner Witney Carson are the winners of Season 34! Irwin won over Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy, who placed second.

On the night, he and Carson performed an Instant Dance Challenge of the Cha Cha, a Freestyle routine to “Black and Gold” by Sam Sparro and “The Nights” by Avicii, and the Judges’ Choice performance, which was a quickstep to “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” by Jet. Fans have reacted with excitement to the wildlife conservationists’ win, which many suspected would happen because he had been a fan favorite from the start. But what’s next for Irwin now that he is a “Dancing with the Stars” champion?

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Robert Irwin’s Future Plans

In an interview with E! News following the finale on Tuesday, November 25, Irwin discussed his plans. “I go to New York and then straight to South Africa to film another show over there,” he said. “And then, I’m back home.” Irwin lives in Australia and works at the Australia Zoo.

He also revealed that he and Carson, who have formed a beautiful, close friendship on the show, would be reuniting. “Witney’s coming down to Australia,” he said, to which she replied, “You’re not getting rid of me that easy.”

Irwin was thrilled with his win and discussed the incredible feeling of winning a Mirrorball. “I’ve been able to write my own legacy with Witney as we tell stories of positivity, vulnerability, passion, and fun,” he said. Many fans who tuned into DWTS each week indeed celebrated Irwin for being a joy to watch and a ray of sunshine and positivity.

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Robert Irwin’s Mirrorball Win

Irwin’s win was incredible not only because he started the show with no prior dance training but because his older sister, Bindi Irwin, had already competed on the ABC dance competition. She competed alongside professional dancer Derek Hough in Season 21 in 2015, and ultimately won the Mirrorball Trophy. This makes the Irwins the first siblings to win the trophy.

Fans may have remembered Irwin from when his sister was on the show. At the time, he was a little kid showing her support from the audience. Carson has previously shared how she never thought they would one day be partners because of their age gap.

“He was so little when he was there [during Bindi’s time on the show] and I had just gotten engaged,” Carson told The Hollywood Reporter in a November 11 interview. “Our age gap was very, very big, so that wasn’t even something that came to my mind. Even when [it] was announced earlier in the year that he was going to be on the show, I still didn’t think that we would be partnered together.”