Washington DC [US], February 11 (ANI): After his 'Dancing with the Stars' victory, Robert Irwin has addressed speculation that he could be the next leading man on 'The Bachelor', according to E! News.

The 22-year-old animal conservationist, who won the Mirrorball Trophy alongside partner Witney Carson during season 34 of the dance competition, reacted to the swirling rumours in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.

'The Bachelor' is a dating and relationship reality TV series that premiered on March 25, 2002, on ABC. For its first 25 seasons, the show was hosted by Chris Harrison.

'Never say never,' Irwin said. 'I'm in this realm right now where I'm like, 'never say never',' as quoted by E! News.

'Who knows,' he added. 'It's a strange world. Anything could happen.'

Despite the buzz, Irwin was quick to clarify that his passion lies in wildlife conservation rather than reality-television romance, according to E! News.

'I feel like some of the rumours flying around during Dancing with the Stars like, 'Robert's gonna be the next Bachelor,'' he said. 'I'm like, 'Oh my goodness.' I'm a zookeeper.'

'I'm an animal conservationist. That's my thing. My world is very different from most of the things that are reported on about me,' he emphasised.

Irwin also joked that his dating life may not be compelling enough for primetime television. 'My life is a lot more boring than you might think,' he shared. 'It's exciting when it comes to animals. I mean, I'm jumping on crocs and I'm catching snakes and I'm rescuing koalas. But when it comes to that side of it, I'm pretty vanilla,' according to E! News.

The Australian conservationist has previously spoken about the challenges of dating in the public eye. In an interview with The New York Times published November 23, Irwin described navigating romance under public scrutiny as 'so challenging,' noting that 'anything you do will be on TikTok the next day.'

Irwin, who was previously linked to Rorie Buckey until early 2024, said he remains authentic despite the attention.

'I never change what I say, what I do, who I am one bit, wherever I am,' he said. 'I have no persona to hide behind. It's just me, and I stand by who I am,' according to E! News. (ANI)