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Robert Irwin is grateful to his mother, Terri Irwin.
Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE after Dancing with the Stars’ Dedication Night on Tuesday, Oct. 14, the conservationist, 21, who co-starred with Terry, 61, on the show’s special tribute, praised Terry’s “strength” and the way she cared for him and his sister Bindi after the death of their father Steve Irwin.
“I think as an adult, there are things you don’t realize as a kid. I mean, I owe it to my mom that I never felt like I was missing out on anything in my life,” Robert tells PEOPLE.
“I obviously always felt like I was missing out on a big part of my life, but she made sure I never felt like I was missing out,” he says of Terry, 61.
Steve died in 2006 at the age of 44 after being bitten by a stingray barb while filming in Australia.
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Robert said he now realizes the “strength” his mother “had to continue living” after his father’s death. “It’s about continuing the legacy that my dad started with her, but also raising our kids,” he tells PEOPLE.
The DWTS contestant’s comments came after she gave an emotional performance with partner Witney Carson to Phil Collins’ “You’ll Be in My Heart” in honor of her mother, Terry, on Tuesday’s episode of DWTS: Dedication Night.
Terry joined Robert and Whitney on the dance floor as the song came to a close, and Terry’s sister Bindi, 27, ran over to give her a hug before receiving her score from the judges.
The emotional performance brought Robert to tears along with judges Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli, while Terry also appeared emotional throughout.
Hough, who partnered with Bindi on DWTS, tearfully told Robert, “The love I have for your family. I love you so much. I’m so proud of you. I really am. The world needs the Irwin family because of the amazing people you’ve become.”
“For a long time, all I wanted to do was just express my gratitude to her,” Robert told PEOPLE after the emotional eulogy. “And in the end, being able to give 100 percent of myself physically and emotionally in this dance is what it’s all about.”
She added that her performance was in honor of “all the strong single parents around the world who keep pushing forward.”
Regarding what he learned from his mother, Robert said that Terry “taught me every day what it meant to put one foot in front of the other, even when it was very difficult,” adding that Terry was “a very kind and vulnerable, strong and grounded person.”
“I think one of the really important things that my mom represents is how to be strong,” he continues. “And I think so many people forget what it means to be strong. You think of being strong as being solid and showing up and just going on and everything will be fine. That’s not what strength is. Real strength is finding and feeling your own weaknesses, your own emotions, and using that to move yourself and hopefully help others and try to create a community.”
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Prior to his performance on the show, Robert went on to praise his mother for playing the role of a parent while he was growing up.
“At every milestone, when I wished my dad was there, he was there. That was enough for me,” she said in a confessional on the show. “I’m having a hard time losing my dad…My mom always made sure he was present in our lives. I wanted to know how proud he was of her.”
“(Your father) looks at you and smiles,” Tonioli tearfully said as he announced the scores afterwards. Meanwhile, guest judge and former DWTS winner Kim Johnson added to Terry, “You’re such an amazing woman.”
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DWTS airs Tuesdays at 8pm ET on ABC and Disney+.
