Robert Irwin’s ‘DWTS’ debut is sparking one big question — will Jenna Johnson be his partner?
'Dancing with the Stars' Season 34 is already creating a lot of buzz after it announced its first celebrity contestant: Robert Irwin, the 21-year-old wildlife conservationist and son of the late Steve Irwin. Irwin is all set to follow in the footsteps of his sister, Bindi Irwin, who won the competition in season 21. Rumors about Irwin's professional dance partner caught fire when he was seen seated next to Jenna Johnson Chmerkovskiy at the "Hulu Gets Real" media event. Jenna Johnson Chmerkovskiy, who won the Mirrorball Trophy in Season 33 with 'The Bachelor' star Joey Graziadei, responded to the speculation in an interview with TV Insider, "I don’t know,” she replied to TV Insider. “(But) I would love to! We’ll see. I think that he’s the best candidate to be on the show. I’m excited to watch his journey.”
She added, “I think especially after last season, there is so much excitement and hype,” Chmerkovskiy says. “I hope that with Robert being announced, even more celebrities will want to do the show.” When asked what is keeping her busy now, she replied, "I now have some time at home; I’m so happy to be with my son. I’m doing some work things with Val, too.”
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In hindsight, we see one more contender who was eyeing being paired with Irwin on the show, Rylee Arnold. According to Us Weekly, Arnold shared in a podcast last year, “For some reason, I had this thought that Robert Irwin was going to be my partner because I kind of had put it out into the atmosphere." She added, "People were talking about it so much. People were tagging me in things. So, I was like, ‘It could be them,'” Arnold explained. “But at that point, I’m literally like, ‘I have no idea.’ And I did not know any of the celebrities until I was in the show.”
However, she was equally excited when she got paired with the athlete Stephen Nedoroscik in season 33. "But when Stephen was first announced, I was like, ‘He needs to be my partner.’ I was just like, ‘He’s awesome. I need someone like that as my partner this year." While there is no update on the official pairings for Season 34, fans are eagerly awaiting confirmation.
Fans expressed their enthusiasm and hopes for the potential pairing. On Reddit, one user commented, "Jenna knows she is unlikely to get Robert. Her response to being asked about her being his partner would be positive, because he is a great guy and a great fit for the show." Another speculated, "Jenna’s not going to get a frontrunner; she just won. Rylee got the big male star of last season; she shouldn’t get the big male star again." The third added, "I hope Jenna doesn’t get Robert because he’ll be kind of the same vibe as Joey." The third added, "Realistically, they'd give Jenna either an early out or someone middle of the road, especially if they want her and Joey to dance in the finale and continue the tradition."
