Robert Irwin Gets Emotional After Dedication Dance for Mom Terri Irwin on ‘DWTS’: ‘It Felt Powerful’

There was not a dry eye in the house as Robert Irwin and partner Witney Carson danced a contemporary routine to Phil Collins’ hit “You’ll Be in My Heart” on Dancing with the Stars — dedicated to his mom, Terri Irwin.

Robert, 21, was seen getting emotional as he embraced his mom, 61, at the end of the dance on the show’s Tuesday, October 14 episode.

“I didn’t get that without the tears flowing. Without it feeling so vulnerable,” he told Access Hollywood after the dance. “It felt scary. It felt beautiful. It felt powerful. It felt like a way to say thank you to someone who deserves all the recognition, someone who lifted me up through everything.”

The conservationist was visibly shaken as he stood alongside Terri and Carson, 31, to receive the judges’ critiques.

“He’s looking at you, kid, and he’s smiling,” Bruno Tonioli said of Robert’s late father, Steve Irwin. “You gave us all of your heart and soul. All I can say is this was the true expression of everlasting love.”

Derek Hough —  who took home the Mirrorball Trophy with Robert’s sister, Bindi Irwin, during season 21 — got choked up while giving his reaction.

“The love I have for your family. I just have so much love for you guys. I’m so proud of you. I really am. Just you’ve become such an amazing man and the world needs the Irwin family,” Hough, 40, said.

Robert opened up about the gratitude he has towards his mother during the rehearsal video shown before his dance.

“At every milestone, when I just wish, when I just wish that my dad was there, she was there, and that was enough,” he said.

Robert’s father, the Crocodile Hunter, was tragically killed by a stingray while filming in Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in 2006.

“I struggle a lot with losing dad a lot,” Robert 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 added that “it was difficult to smile again” after Steve’s death.

“So for [Robert] 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,” she added.