‘You Lifted Me Up’: Robert Irwin’s Emotional ‘DWTS’ Dance for Mom Terri Brings Viewers to Tears
The Irwins’ tearful ‘Dancing With the Stars’ moment proved Steve’s spirit is still part of their story
The emotional Dedication Night on Dancing with the Stars aired just last night and the performance put on by Robert Irwin and his partner, Witney Carson, moved everyone to tears (including himself). The 21-year-old conservationist chose to dedicate the dance to his mother, Terri Irwin, and selected Phil Collins’ song, “You’ll Be In My Heart”.
“I’ve never been able to capture the feeling of gratitude I feel for her,” Irwin said about why he dedicated the dance to his mom. “At every milestone, when I just wish, when I just wish that my dad was there, she was, she was there, and that was enough.”
Irwin’s father, conservationist Steve Irwin, died in 2006 when Robert was nearly three years old. In the years since, Robert has relied on his mother to fill the role of mother and father and he wanted to share the love he has for her with the world.
“I struggle a lot with losing dad a lot,” he added. “She always made sure my dad was present in our lives. I wanted to know how proud my dad would be of her.”
Terri made an appearance at the end of Robert and Witney’s dance, which left the entire Irwin family (and America) in tears. See the emotional dance below.
Robert Irwin’s mom tears up during the dance
Following the end of the performance, Terri joined her son and his partner for the dance critiques, where they received heartwarming words from judges Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and guest judge Kym Johnson. Irwin and Carson received a 35/40, which was their highest score of the season thus far.
During the rehearsals, Terri shared her thoughts on having the dance dedicated to her and how it was to raise her children following the death of her husband.
“I’m here to cry,” Terri said before the show. “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.”
Why this moment mattered so much
Irwin has been very open about getting ready for Dedication Night and the emotions he has experienced over the past week. Before the dance airing, Irwin took to Instagram to explain what it’s been like leading up to the big night.
“It has been an emotional week in rehearsals,” Irwin wrote. “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. 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 ❤️
After ending the night with his best score yet and sharing the stage with his mom, Irwin explained how grateful he was to share the dance with the world and to show the love and appreciation he has for his mother.
“I will remember this night forever,” Irwin wrote on Instagram. “This dance was a story of love, loss, grief and gratitude. It is a thank you message to my mum, it was to pay tribute to all the strong mothers of the world, and the single parents. I know my dad was with us, and can only imagine how proud he would be of my mum. This dance is for all of us, thank you for your support ❤️”
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