Robert Irwin has once again become a viral sensation—though this time, it’s not due to a cheeky underwear campaign, but rather a bizarre series of AI-generated images linking him romantically to Canadian pop star Shawn Mendes.
The 21-year-old Wildlife Warrior has been swept into a whirlwind of online speculation, sparked by clickbait headlines and digitally altered photos suggesting an entirely fictional romance with Mendes, 26. The internet frenzy appears to have stemmed from a 2022 promo for Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, which featured Irwin, Mendes, and actor Javier Bardem.
In a video promoting the animated film, Irwin enthusiastically quizzed Mendes and Bardem on crocodile trivia—a moment so innocuous that its transformation into a supposed love story is baffling fans and insiders alike.
Despite the fan-fiction-like fever sweeping platforms like TikTok and X, sources close to the Irwin family have dismissed the rumours as pure fabrication. “It’s been a whirlwind,” a source told Daily Mail Australia. “People are congratulating Robert on social media like it’s official, but he and Shawn are obviously just friends.”
The fake romance has taken off thanks to convincing AI-generated images, including one showing Irwin in his viral Bonds underwear photo layered with a shot of Mendes appearing to lean in for a kiss. Another image montage features a shirtless Mendes, a mock embrace with Irwin, and a solo smiling shot of the Aussie conservationist.
Clickbait captions like “He didn’t say a word, but one quiet gesture from Shawn Mendes to Robert Irwin is breaking the internet” have only fuelled the fire. Fans online have dubbed them the “perfect match” and joked it’s the “crocodile love story we never saw coming.”
Mendes, who has faced speculation about his sexuality for years, addressed the issue candidly during a concert in 2023, calling it “silly” to box in sexuality and admitting he’s still figuring it out. “I’m trying to be really brave and just allow myself to be a human and feel things,” he told fans.
Irwin, meanwhile, recently ended his nearly two-year relationship with Rorie Buckley and reportedly cooled things off with fellow Australia Zoo staffer Charlotte Briggs earlier this year.
Despite the fictional nature of the romance, many fans are embracing the fantasy. “Let’s keep our fingers crossed for this potential new couple!” one hopeful wrote on Facebook, while another commented, “This makes around 10 people Shawn is supposed to be dating!”
Whether fact or fiction, it’s clear the internet isn’t ready to let go of this unlikely—and entirely AI-spun—pairing just yet.
