Robert Irwin spoke frankly Wednesday with the hosts of ABC’s “Good Morning America” about his own struggles with grief and how his “Dancing with the Stars” Season 34 win Tuesday night felt like a “healing” moment.
Irwin was joined on “GMA” by his “Dancing with the Stars” partner, choreographer and dancer Witney Carson, as well as fellow finalists Alix Earle, Val Chmerkovskiy, Dylan Efron, Daniella Karagach, Jordan Chiles, Ezra Sosa, Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten. During his appearance on the morning talk show, Irwin opened up about grappling with his father Steve Irwin’s death and how working with Carson allowed him to embrace the “emotion and vulnerability” of his own story.
“It was very healing,” Irwin said of his and Carson’s “Dancing with the Stars” journey this season. “I feel like Witney created choreography and created these stories that I could tell and it kind of just tapped into [the] emotion and vulnerability within my own journey through grief that I think also got to sort of resonate and help others, which was really important.”
“I feel like everything has led me to this moment,” the “Dancing with the Stars” Season 34 winner added. “Growing up in Australia Zoo, continuing his legacy, has now meant we’re able to write our own story and I’m able to create my own legacy. I hope in everything I do to make him proud, and I’m just so grateful that I got to live out this dream and to do so with my new best mate.”
You can watch part of Irwin’s “Good Morning America” interview yourself in the video below.
Later, in a solo conversation with Carson and the “GMA” hosts, Irwin said he is continuing to push through the rib injury he sustained during this past “Dancing with the Stars” season. “We’re getting there. It’s painful, but you know, no pain, no gain,” the conservationist noted. “It’s all good.”
Irwin revealed that he and Carson borrowed a mantra throughout the season from American tennis player Billie Jean King. “Our mantra [came from] Billie Jean King: Pressure is a privilege,” Irwin explained. He reflected on getting to watch his sister Bindi win her own season of “Dancing with the Stars” back in 2015 and how he tried to lead with gratitude when his turn on the dance floor came.
“I remember watching my sister raise that mirror ball trophy. It just felt like, ‘Wow. What a privilege that we are here,’” Irwin said. “That pressure was there but it was just the pressure to be the best version of ourselves because we just wanted to say, ‘Thank you,’ because I had no idea what to expect coming over. But the way everybody in America was so kind and so embracing … it felt like flying.”
You can watch Irwin and Carson’s solo “GMA” interview in the video below.
