In an otherwise themeless night at “Dancing with the Stars,” the ballroom sparkled as the five remaining couples tackled three routines each during the two-hour finale.
Utah natives Ezra Sosa and Witney Carson both took the floor with their celebrity partners — Olympic medalist Jordan Chiles and wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin — alongside competitors Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy, Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach, and Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten.
The season built up to this moment, when the show would finally reveal who would take home the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.
After 72 million votes were cast, Robert Irwin and Witney Carson claimed the title in what many saw as an expected victory. The pair entered the finale as clear favorites, with a 90% predicted chance of winning, as previously reported by the Deseret News.
Irwin and Carson delivered one of their strongest nights of the season. They preformed a quickstep for the Judges’ Choice round, earning a 29/30, followed by a cha-cha for the Instant Dance Challenge and scoring a perfect 30/30. Their finale freestyle, set to “Black & Gold” and “The Nights,” brought the house down, with a perfect 30/30 score, giving the duo a combined combined total of 89/90.
When co-host Julianne Hough asked Irwin what the win meant to him, he responded, “my sister said it best: Thank you for changing my life.”
Carson added, “I’m so grateful for Robert, and I feel like I won already with him as my friend.”
The win was historic for the Irwin family — coming 10 years after his sister, Bindi Irwin, won her own Mirrorball Trophy. Robert, emotional, held back tears as he dedicated the moment to his late father.
“I wanted to make my dad proud. I wish he could see it. I really wish he could be here.”
Robert’s father, Steve Irwin, became a global icon through his wildlife television shows, earning the nickname the “Crocodile Hunter.” He died in 2006 during a diving expedition after being struck by a stingray, when Robert was still a baby, per BBC.
Carson earns her second win on “DWTS,” previously taking home the Mirrorball Trophy in 2014 on Season 19 of the reality competition show with partner Alfonso Ribeiro.