Robert Irwin Admits It’s a ‘Tough Week’ Practicing on Dancing with the Stars: ‘Thinking a Lot About Grief’

Robert Irwin is opening up about the less glamorous parts of competing on Dancing with the Stars. 

In the midst of working on his routine for “Dedication Night” on the Oct. 14 episode of the ABC competition show, which he is dedicating to his mom Terri Irwin, the wildlife conservationist admitted it’s been “a tough week.”

“We’ve been working hard and I’ve been sort of tapping into emotions that I haven’t really gotten to share before — certainly not publicly,” Robert, 21, said in an Oct. 12 TikTok video. “I’ve been thinking a lot about my dad, I’ve been thinking a lot about the highs and the lows, the grief, the way my mom has helped me navigate that.”

Robert’s father, Steve Irwin, died nearly two decades ago after being attacked by a stingray off the coast of Australia while filming an underwater documentary. Robert was nearly 3 years old. 

Beyond navigating the complicated emotions that come with dealing with such sensitive tributes, Robert shared that he’s also found out the “devastating” news that his dog back at home in his native Australia, Stella, has cancer.

“She was found to have a mass that ended up being cancerous,” he explained. “She’s had surgery, she’s doing okay post-surgery. We’re still waiting to find out exactly if it’s spread and all that.”

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But while he says it’s been “such a stressful time,” he also emphasized that navigating these difficult emotions has been “really beautiful.”

As he put it, “This dance has just been this culmination of so much emotion, and I just want this to be a point of vulnerability. I want this to be a dance not only for my mom, but for all of the moms out there that don’t get the recognition that they deserve. I want this to be a dance for anyone who’s lost someone.”

“I’m excited for you to see this,” he added. “I hope this dance can help people because it’s certainly helped me.”

Indeed, the Australian native has previously said that being on the show has helped him feel more connected to his dad.

“I’m doing this and I do what I do in life to make him proud,” Robert told PEOPLE of his late father last month. “Dad was the person who just gave everything he did, everything he had truly. And this experience, that’s what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to show every side to yourself. You’ve got to put every single fiber of your energy into this, and you get all of that back.”

And when he did a tango with partner Witney Carson to “Move Your Feet” by Junior Senior during the Sept. 23 episode, he felt like he was channeling him more than ever.

“There isn’t a day goes by where someone isn’t sharing how dad inspired them,” he gushed on the show. “It means everything to me, because every year I live, I actually feel closer to my dad.”