Witney Carson adjusted her Dancing With the Stars freestyle choreography to accommodate Robert Irwin’s painful rib injury.
“I get tossed by the [other male pro dancers], and Robert usually catches me,” Carson, 32, said on the Wednesday, November 26, broadcast of Good Morning America. “There was one time we did it that just killed his ribs, so I took it out.”
She continued, “Obviously, his health is my No. 1 priority. I have a sense of protectiveness forever now.”
Instead of Irwin catching Carson after her big lift, she tweaked the routine so that the other backup dancers helped more. Irwin then met her back on the dance floor when she landed on her feet.
Witney Carson Says She Feels ‘Protective’ Over ‘DWTS’ Partner Robert Irwin
Irwin, 21, is now slowly on the mend.
“We’re getting there,” Irwin stressed on GMA of his recovery process. “It’s painful but no pain, no gain. It’s all good, we wanted to push through. Witney was amazing at changing up some of the moves we had in there [that] we had to change on the fly. Our last dance, that freestyle, was our way to say thank you to everybody who’s been on that journey. We just knew we had to make it work because it was the way to just say, ‘We’re so grateful for this experience.’ Honestly, I’ll heal up.”
Irwin further joked that since he catches “crocs” for a living, he’s “used to” being injured and navigating recovery.
“It’s all good,” the wildlife conservationist quipped. “We were having that much fun that I didn’t even realize there was an issue till the end because [of] the adrenaline, the passion and the fun of it all. It overrides anything. It is, literally, the greatest thing I’ve gotten to be a part of. I’m just so, so happy [that I could] bring a bit of that khaki, ‘wildlife warrior’ vibe in there.”
While training for the Tuesday, November 25, finale, Irwin sustained a rib injury.
“I’ve been dealing with rib pain because the intercostal muscles of the ribs are under a lot of tension,” he said in a rehearsal package. “It’s been getting worse progressively.”
While Carson always had a “plan B” in the event of his worsening injury, Irwin wanted to push through as much as he could. The pair eventually competed in three rounds of competition on Tuesday: Judge’s Choice, Instant Dance and the freestyle.
Carson and Irwin were crowned the season 34 champs, beating runner-ups Alix Earle and pro Val Chmerkovskiy and the other three finalists: Jordan Chiles, Dylan Efron and Elaine Hendrix.
Witney Carson Had ‘Flashbacks’ of Robert Irwin as a Kid in ‘DWTS’ Ballroom
“It feels a lot different,” Carson said on GMA of taking home her second mirrorball trophy. “The first time I won [with Alfonso Ribeiro], I was 19 years old — and now I’m 32. I have kids now, and to celebrate with them and my husband was so special.”
Carson’s husband, Carson McAllister, also attended Tuesday’s live show with the couple’s toddlers, Leo and Jet.
The two-time champ further gushed that it was a “full circle” moment to be handed the trophy from Ribeiro, her season 19 partner with whom she last won the show.
“The fact that Alfonso gave me the mirrorball is really full-circle for me,” she said on Wednesday of the DWTS host. “And just to have Robert as my partner [was so special]. He’s exactly this way in real life, which is crazy. It was a very memorable, special season.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EDT and streams the next day on Hulu.
