Robert Irwin Reveals the ‘Humiliating’ Way He Broke His Foot

Robert Irwin took home the Mirrorball Trophy on season 34 of Dancing with the Stars, which he competed on with his partner, Witney Carson. Although he showed off his incredible dance moves during his run on the show, he recently revealed that he hurt himself dancing in private.

“Nobody knows this,” the star said when he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on May 4. “But [the injury] wasn’t actually on the show. This is after the season of Dancing with the Stars ended. I was alone in my room. I have a little fireplace. It’s made out of stones. And I’m sitting there going, ‘I wonder if I’ve still got it.'”

He continued, “You know, the one that has all the kicks? I put the song on and I just start going full ham, 100% around my house. And I just slam my foot into the fireplace.”

Irwin went on to explain that the injury was actually a broken foot. “I’m rolling on the floor, ballooned, like this giant bruise,” he said. “And yeah, I broke my foot doing the jive in my living room, on my own. It was humiliating.”

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On the Instagram post from The Tonight Show that featured the story, Carson left a comment that said, “Love how you say ‘no one knows this’ you should have followed with ‘except for Witney.’”

Irwin isn’t done with Dancing with the Stars yet. He is hosting a new competition show, Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro, which is meant to find the next professional dancer who will compete in the series. It will premiere on July 13 on ABC.

“For the first time in Dancing with the Stars history, the greatest dancers will compete for a spot as the next pro,” Irwin said in the promo. “Let the fiercest dance battle begin.”