Robert Irwin, who was crowned the victor of Dancing With the Stars (DWTS) Season 34, opened up about his injuries before he headed into the final performance on Tuesday. He said that his injuries were progressively “getting worse.” In a separate video, his dance partner said that she had to “change some things” as a result of his injuries.
Robert Irwin reveals he had been ‘dealing with rib pain’ ahead of DWTS Season 34 finale
DWTS Season 34 has crowned Australian conservationist Robert Irwin and his pro dance partner, Witney Carson, as the winner. However, their journey to the performance was not an easy one. Ahead of their final performance, Irwin had revealed that he’s been dealing with a lot of “pain” from his rib injuries.
“I’ve been dealing with rib pain because the intercostal muscles of the ribs are under a lot of tension,” he said, adding that “it’s been getting worse progressively.” (via E! News)
On November 24, a day before the finale, Carson had also had a similar update in her TikTok video. She noted how strenuous it had been on both her and Irwin’s bodies after “11 weeks of crazy, vigorous, and hard dancing.” She added, “My body is feeling it. Robert’s body is feeling it. We’re like, kind of falling apart right now.”
Elsewhere in the video, Carson added, “Robert’s ribs have been killing him, and more will be revealed on Tuesday. You guys can get a better idea of what we’ve been dealing with all week. But I do have to, like, change some things that involve other dancers and involve other guys.”
Nonetheless, the duo went on to deliver a strong performance that garnered perfect scores from the judges.
During the night, the pair delivered three incredible performances. In the Judge’s Choice round, they danced to “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” by Jet. For the Instance Dance segment, they performed a cha-cha to “Cake by the Ocean” by DNCE. And finally, in the Freestyle round, they showcased their versatility to “Black & Gold” by Sam Sparro and “The Nights” by Avicii.
The DWTS 34 finale aired on November 25, 2025.
Originally reported by Harsha Panduranga on Comingsoon.
