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It was Dedication Night on Dancing with the Stars, and Robert Irwin honoured his mum in a dance that brought him and viewers to tears.
The 21-year-old Australian conversationist and TV presenter is the son of Steve Irwin, also known as The Crocodile Hunter, who died aged 44 after being attacked by a stingray in 2006.
Robert was just two years old at the time and admits still struggling with the fact that his dad is gone.
In a moving tribute, Robert danced to You’ll Be In My Heart by Phil Collins with pro dance partner Witney Carson, and moved audiences to tears after he finished the dance with his mum, Terri Irwin.
The themed Dedication Night invited guests to pay tribute to somebody special in their lives and be accompanied by them on stage.
Before the dance began, Robert spoke about Terri and broke down in tears: ‘At every milestone, when I just wish that my dad was there, she was there, and that was enough.’
As the performance closed, Robert twirled his mum before embracing, while the song ended on the lyrics, ‘cause you’ll be in my heart, always’.
The mother-and-son duo embraced as Robert gripped his mum tight while crying into her arms.
Terri spoke in rehearsals about what it was like to lose her husband: ‘After we lost Steve, it was difficult to smile again, for quite a while.
‘So for him to say, ‘You lifted me up,’ honestly, it was the opposite. Because of them, I could get up every morning, so every day I’m a proud mama.’
Robert’s sister Bindi, 27, ran onto the stage to hug him before he received his scores from the judges.
He was also seen being comforted by host Julianne Hough and his fellow contestants after the moving routine.
Emotions were high for those watching as well.
@NaomiHiggins03 on YouTube declared: ‘The part where it transitions from Witney to Terri had me in tears. This was so beautiful. The Irwin family is a treasure.’
Another, @mlabraney2008able, added: ‘When he started to tear up before his mom even got to him, my momma heart broke’.
And @Longshot990 admitted: ’32-year-old man sobbing on a Tuesday night. What a beautiful dance this was.’
At the end of the show, host Alfonso Ribeiro delivered a shocking twist – there would be no eliminations in that round.
Still, the dancing couple scored an impressive 35/40, finishing joint-second in the leaderboard with Alix Earle and partner Val Chmerkovskiy, behind Dylan Efron and partner Daniella Karagach.
Dancing with the Stars is available to watch in the US on ABC and Disney Plus.
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