Robert Irwin ‘Desperate to See’ Xochitl Gomez Again Amid ‘Intense’ Long-Distance Romance (Exclusive)

Robert Irwin got super close with Xochitl Gomez during his recent stint on Dancing With the Stars, as Star previously reported.

But now that the competition is over, the rumored couple find themselves 10,000 miles apart.

“Robert didn’t expect this to be so hard,” admits a source. “It’s all extra intense.”

After being crowned the season 34 champion, the Mirrorball Trophy winner, 22, flew straight to the jungle in South Africa to film another reality series, I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!.

“He finished that shoot just before Christmas so he’s been back in Australia now, working at the zoo and doing some promotion stuff,” says the source.

Irwin has gotten to see at least one familiar face.

His Dancing With the Stars partner, Witney Carson, recently made the trip Down Under with her husband, Carson McCallister, and their sons, Leo, 5, and Jet, 3.

The wildlife conservationist posted a series of Instagram photos and videos on Wednesday, January 14, of him giving the professional dancer, 32, and her family a tour of the Australia Zoo. “The gang is back together,” Irwin wrote in the caption.

“He’s been showing them around and having fun,” says the source. “But it’s made him miss Xochitl even more because he sees how happy and in love Witney and Carson are.”

Will he reunite with the Marvel star, 19, soon?

“He’d love for her to come visit him in Australia but she’s slammed with work the same way he is, so finding a way to actually be together is proving very hard,” says Star’s source.

Like any other long-distance couple, “they FaceTime every day and text all the time, but it’s obviously not the same,” the source says. “He’s desperate to see her again.”