DWTS Season 34 Champ Reveals The Pre-Finale Injury You Didn’t See On Camera
Ahead of Tuesday’s finale, DWTS Season 34 champ Robert Irwin revealed he was dancing hurt as worsening injuries forced his partner to rework their final routine.
Robert Irwin just won Dancing With the Stars Season 34, but he did it while dealing with a rib situation that sounded... not fun. We are talking pain getting worse heading into finale night, last-minute choreography tweaks, the whole thing. And then he and Witney Carson still pulled perfect scores and walked off with the mirrorball. Wild.
What he was dealing with
The Australian conservationist said his ribs had been a problem going into Tuesday's finale, and not in a vague, my-back-kind-of-hurts way. He spelled it out in an interview before the show:
"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."
So yeah, not exactly the note you want to hit in the last 48 hours of a competition built on lifts, holds, and sudden twists.
The last-minute scramble
On November 24, literally the day before the finale, Witney jumped on TikTok with a status report that basically confirmed the obvious: 11 weeks of high-intensity rehearsals had hammered both of them. She said her body was feeling it, Robert's body was feeling it, and they were kind of falling apart. She also teased that more context would land on Tuesday and, crucially, that she had to rework parts of their numbers because of Robert's ribs — changes that affected other dancers and additional partners in the routine. Translation: late-stage choreography math, which is never relaxing.
Finale night: pain, perfect 10s, and the win
Despite all that, the judges were all-in. Perfect scores across the board, and the win for Robert Irwin and pro partner Witney Carson when the Season 34 finale aired Tuesday, November 25, 2025.
- Judge's Choice: 'Are You Gonna Be My Girl' by Jet
- Instant Dance (a cha-cha): 'Cake by the Ocean' by DNCE
- Freestyle medley: 'Black & Gold' by Sam Sparro into 'The Nights' by Avicii
Bottom line: ribs screaming, choreography shuffled at the buzzer, and still a clean sweep. The scorecards did not care about pain management, and now neither does that mirrorball trophy.