Let it never be said that showbiz is easy. Bindi Irwin has been wowing audiences and judges alike on Season 21 of Dancing With The Stars partnered to professional dancer Derek Hough, but her feet have been paying the price. The intensive dancing that she’s been acing for the show has resulted in her toenails actually falling off of her feet. While such a malady is pretty much universally gross, at least the young dancer hasn’t been too glum about it. Bindi Irwin had this to say about her current toenail situation:
They are all superglued because I actually lost another nail in dress rehearsal and if it pops off, it bleeds. I have holes in my feet and the toenails keep falling off, but if I superglue them down, they don’t rip as much and they don’t hurt as much.
Bindi’s interview with People that gave the inside scoop on her toe status quo was vaguely terrifying and mostly gross, but there’s no denying that her hard work has been paying off. One of the most memorable dances of Season 21 so far has been her rendition of the iconic final Dirty Dancing routine with Derek Hough. She even did the lift, and as anybody familiar with the film will know, it usually takes a summer full of dance training and sexual tension for an amateur to nail the lift.
Of course, Bindi doesn’t spend all of her time working on choreography and supergluing pieces of her body back together, and it turns out that her loose toenails gross even Bindi out when she’s not dancing for Dancing. She shared an endearing story of how she and boyfriend Chandler Powell have adapted to her current state:
At one point, one of my toenails flew off and flew past him. He said, ‘Oh. It’s a good thing I love you.’ It was just so gross but I felt so bad.
At least her flying toenails have confirmed that her boyfriend is pretty much a keeper.
Bindi Irwin has been a major contestant to watch since the beginning of her stint on Dancing. The daughter of the late Steve “Crocodile Hunter” Irwin, her youthful exuberance and genuine smile onscreen has made her particularly enjoyable. After 21 seasons, the dancing reality show has been known to drag from time to time, and Bindi has been a refreshing presence on the program.
Watching her dance (and paying no attention to the state of her feet), it would be hard to guess that young Bindi suffers during every step and turn. Hopefully, she’ll be able to stick around and keep wowing viewers with her dance moves and willingness to power through anything…no matter how gross.
Dancing With the Stars airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC with results shown on Tuesday nights.
