Robert Irwin is proving to be more than just the host of DANCING WITH THE STARS: THE NEXT PRO.
“I understand what it’s like to lose someone,” Irwin told contestant Allen Genkin during Monday’s episode, drawing on his own father’s death to help a grieving competitor push through a difficult dance. It became one of the most personal moments Irwin has shared since taking the hosting job.
THE NEXT PRO, filmed in Irwin’s native Queensland, Australia, follows 10 aspiring dancers competing for a spot as a professional partner on the flagship series. Genkin and his partner, Adele Zaikman, chose to build their week-two routine around Genkin’s grief over his mother’s death when he was 15. The process left him drained.
“This week is very draining. After my mom passed, it was quite a difficult moment in my life, so this dance is taking a toll on me,” Genkin said in a confessional interview. Watching him struggle through rehearsals with DWTS pro Brandon Armstrong, Irwin decided to visit the cast’s villa for a one-on-one talk.
“I wanted to visit Allen today because I know he’s telling a very important story, and a story I know that’s hard to tell,” Irwin said. He wanted, he explained, to see if he could help Genkin work through it.
“My mum, when she died when I was 15, I lost my best friend. Twenty years have gone by, and they say time heals all wounds, but it really doesn’t,” Genkin told Irwin, tears welling in his eyes. Irwin, whose own father died when he was just 2, agreed with a simple “nope.”
Steve Irwin, the beloved conservationist and CROCODILE HUNTER star, died suddenly on Sept. 4, 2006, three months before his son’s third birthday. Movieguide® has followed the Irwin family’s efforts to carry his legacy forward for years, from Robert’s visit to his father’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star to his own path onto the DWTS dance floor, following his sister Bindi.
“When I did DANCING WITH THE STARS, I was given this opportunity to do a dedication dance to my mum,” Irwin told Genkin. During DWTS Season 34’s “Dedication Night,” Irwin and his partner, Witney Carson, performed a contemporary routine honoring his mother, Terri Irwin, rather than his late father.
“I struggle a lot with losing Dad, a lot, and she always made sure my dad was present in our lives,” Irwin said of Terri during that week’s rehearsal package. Terri joined her son onstage as the routine ended, and the pair earned a season-high 35 out of 40 points.
“As soon as that music stopped, my mum joined me on stage, and I completely broke down,” Irwin told Genkin, describing how the performance let him finally face grief he’d carried since childhood. He encouraged Genkin to let his own dance do the same work.
Genkin took the advice to heart. He and Zaikman performed to Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth’s “See You Again,” a routine that left the judges shaken. “It was by far one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever witnessed,” judge Shirley Ballas said of the number. Both Genkin and Zaikman advanced to next week’s competition, while Miami contestant Benji Castro was eliminated.
Irwin, who won DWTS season 34 with Carson before stepping into hosting duties on THE NEXT PRO, has built a public life around turning loss into something useful, first through his family’s conservation work and now through moments like this one. Grief, as Irwin keeps showing viewers, doesn’t vanish with time. But shared honestly, it can still do some good — for the person carrying it, and for whoever’s watching.
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