Just heartbreaking. Bindi Irwin might have got a perfect 10 for her super-emotional Dancing With the Stars performance on Monday, Oct. 5 — but it came at quite an emotional cost, and a whole lot of tears!
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when the adorable 17-year-old actress and conservationist performed her contemporary dance with partner Derek Hough, honoring her late dad, Steve Irwin, who passed away in 2006.
And talking after her performance, Bindi told Us Weekly exclusively that this past week has been one of the hardest she’s ever faced in her life, as she returned her thoughts to the time of her dad’s death.
“This week was a really, really tough week,” Bindi told Us. “It was kind of revisiting a place that I haven’t gone to since 2006. It’s a really challenging thing to do because there is a lot of emotion — I don’t think I’ve ever cried as much as I have this past week, to be honest!” she added.
During an emotional pre-dance video package, the teenager spoke about her loss. “What shaped me the most would probably be when my dad passed away,” she revealed. “For the rest of my life, I’ll kind of feel like he’s gonna come home.” But dance partner Hough was keen to protect Bindi from watching the video before they performed.
“I couldn’t watch the package,” Bindi admitted. “[Derek] was covering my ears and singing, ‘La la la la.’ You’re already emotional and to add more emotion on top of that….I felt strong and secure and ready for it, and then in the end, after it finishes, then you can let the emotion out and kind of just take a breath for a minute. Then you can pick yourself back up,” she said.
As usual, Bindi was supported by her mom, Terri, 51, and brother Bob, 11 in the audience, although the DWTS star was waiting until after the show to actually reconnect with them.
“I haven’t seen them yet because I’m afraid I’m going to start bawling again,” she revealed. “Tonight, we have a plan: I’m going to get pizza and chocolate milk and lay down! And then hug my family!” she added. “I think I took all the emotion for this week and let it pour out of me. I’m glad we got through the dance and now I’m ready to just embrace the sunshine again! I’m glad I got to share it with everybody though,” she added.
