Bindi Irwin left everyone in tears with an emotional tribute to her late father on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" Monday, starting with an eye-watering package and then matching it with a sentimental contemporary dance with pro partner Derek Hough that earned the first perfect 10 of the season.
Irwin, 17, admitted in a previously recorded package that she never allowed herself to process the death of her father, Steve Irwin "The Crocodile Hunter," but felt she was strong enough to
dedicate a dance to him, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
"I can remember being little, you know: 'The one thing I want to do is be just like dad when I grow up,'" Irwin told Hough in the pre-dance video, remembering back to 2006 when her dad died. "And I still feel like that . . . It took a really long time to understand what actually happened. For the rest of my life, I'll kind of feel like he's going to come home."
After the clip, Irwin and Hough performed to "Every Breath You Take" by The Police.
Hough told People magazine that he would not let Irwin listen to her video package before they danced.
"I was just holding her ears and blocking it out so we could focus on the dance, and then after the dance you can let it out because it is hard to hysterically cry while dancing," he said.
The moving dance won over the judges, earning 28 out of 30 points, the highest score of the night. Judge Bruno Tonioli awarded Irwin the season's first perfect 10.
"You have to remember that that emotion is just a part of life, and we all have to deal with different things, but you have to find that beauty in every day," Irwin said to People after the show. "Tonight, it was just all about remembering the fact that dad is always with me, and I carry him in my heart."
Irwin and Hough also won over hearts on social media.
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