"She’s gonna be here:" Dancing With the Stars' Robert Irwin says one of his family members might join the show in the future

Dancing with the Stars season 34's highly anticipated finale is about to premiere on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, on ABC at 8:00 pm ET. 

The semi-finals that took place on November 18, 2025, saw five pairs of celebrity contestants making it to the finale, aiming for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy: Robert Irwin and Whitney Carson; Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa; Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten; Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy; Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach.

21-year-old wildlife conservationist, Robert Irwin, spoke to Entertainment Tonight after the semifinals, speaking about the hard work they put in and making it to the finals, along with speaking about his niece, Grace, who might participate in the show in the future, as he said:

Grace is getting into this. I am serious, she’s gonna be here.

Here's what Robert Irwin said after getting into the top five of Dancing with the Stars season 34

Robert Irwin recently hinted that his 4-year-old niece, Grace, might one day follow in the family footsteps and join Dancing with the Stars.

Both he and his sister, Bindi Irwin, have competed on the show, with Bindi winning the Mirrorball Trophy in 2015, and now it seems the next generation may take over the family legacy.

In an interview with ET, Robert shared that Grace has “become increasingly interested in dancing,” even picking up real ballroom terms.

“Grace is getting into this. I am serious, she’s gonna be here,” Robert told reporter Denny Directo after the semi-finals. “I said, ‘Who do you want to be paired with?’ And she’s like, ‘Val!’ She’s gonna be in here, honestly.”

He added that she recently surprised him backstage by saying,

“I loved your Viennese Waltz. Your footwork was excellent,” leading him to ask Bindi, “‘Did you tell her to say that?’ And she’s like, ‘No!’”

Robert’s family has been loudly cheering him on all season, and his mom, Terri, even shared a post that had Grace in a sparkling dress along with Robert, Bindi, and pro Whitney on Instagram, captioning it:

Robert’s biggest fan is definitely Grace. She now has a passion for sparkly dresses and lots of dancing.

Terri herself might even be a future contender, carrying forward their legacy of joining Dancing with the Stars. Robert previously told Parade:

“If Mom did it, I think she would show Bindi and [me] up,” and joked, “If she joins me on the season, I’m getting voted out first week. She’s going to make it all the way. She’s got the groove, absolutely.”

During the same ET interview, Robert also opened up about the moment he and partner Witney Carson found out they were heading to the finale, as he said:

It’s everything. Like, oh my goodness,” he said. “It feels like this is the culmination of so much hard work… We want you to feel what we feel. We want to tell a story.

He further explained that for him and Witney, the goal was always to tell a story, not just dance, adding that her choreography captured everything from fun and passion to the highs and lows of the journey.

Reaching the finale felt incredibly meaningful to him, and he shared how grateful and excited he was that America had given them the chance to experience the climax of their time on the show.

Witney praised him as well, saying,

I really believed in Robert's potential from the very first day that I practiced with him. And the fact that we are here just shows how hard we've really worked. I mean, Robert has had no dance experience at all… I’m just so proud. I’m like a proud, really proud big sister.

Robert then joked about his newfound skills, laughing, that whenever he struggled with a move, he would remind Witney not to forget that he’s a zookeeper, and later credited her strength during one of their standout lifts where he rolled off Whitney's back, saying:

Whitney, I reckon, is like probably the strongest human being I’ve ever met.

Watch Dancing with the Stars live finale on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, at 8:00 pm on ABC to find out who among Robert, Elaine Hendrix, Alix Earle, Jordan Chiles, and Dylan Efron wins the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.

Stay tuned for more updates.