“I think she’s just lovely.”

Robert Irwin is set to take to the dance floor for the first time this week, as Dancing with the Stars premieres in the US. And New Idea can reveal the Wildlife Warrior is already enamoured with the blonde bombshell on his arm – as well as one of his rivals!

Robert, 21, has been matched with professional dancer Witney Carson, with the star describing their pairing as “perfect”.

“I am so lucky to have the best dance partner for this amazing … adventure,” Robert wrote in the caption of a social media video of him and Witney together. “I can’t believe it’s finally happening, here we go!”
Robert says he’s “stoked” to be paired with Witney. (Credit: Instagram)
Robert and Witney, 31, first met 10 years ago, when his older sister Bindi appeared on – and won – the 2015 season of DWTS. Witney also competed that year, partnering with actor Carlos PenaVega. Robert vividly recalls meeting her backstage.

“I was like a little tiny kid,” he told People. He added that, when he opened the studio door on their first day of rehearsals and realised he’d been partnered with Witney, his nerves immediately dissipated.

“I just felt protected,” he shared. “I just felt really safe. It’s just nice.”

For her part, Witney says she “couldn’t stop hugging” Robert when he walked in.

“I had flashbacks of when he was little, so I just felt, like, immediately connected to him, and I just wanted to pinch his cheeks,” she told Us Weekly. “I just couldn’t stop hugging him. I was like, ‘This is so perfect.’ I couldn’t have wished for a better partner.”
Robert’s big sister Bindi won Dancing with the Stars in 2015. (Credit: Getty)
However, while Robert might be singing Witney’s praises now, New Idea can reveal he is just as smitten with another blonde dancer – and actually wanted the show’s producers to pair them together.

Indeed, earlier this year, not long after Robert’s casting was announced, he publicly declared that he really wanted Rylee Arnold to be the one putting him through his paces.

“She is just the coolest,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “I think the absolute world of her. I think she’s lovely. She’s just got the warmest, incredible energy … what a talented dancer. Honestly, I would be over the moon. I’m manifesting Rylee.”
Robert and Rylee got cosy at a DWTS launch event in April. (Credit: Getty)
Rylee, 20, also wanted to be paired with Robert, expressing her desires as far back as 2024, when she called him “the cutest” and said that she really hoped Robert would one day do DWTS just so they could team up.

But the powers that be thought otherwise. Rylee will instead be facing off against Robert and Witney as singer Scott Hoying’s partner.

Meanwhile, fans have noticed that both Witney and Rylee look eerily like Robert’s ex, Rorie Buckey. But anyone hoping that romance might spark with one of them is mistaken, as both dancers are in committed relationships.