Dancer AJ Pritchard has revealed he and girlfriend Abbie Quinnen are “closer than ever”, six months after a freak accident left her with third-degree burns.
Brave Abbie, 24, was engulfed in flames when a glass she was using for a TikTok video exploded in January, leaving her needing three skin grafts.
Now, doting boyfriend AJ, 26, has opened up to the Sunday Mirror about Abbie’s horrific ordeal.
“It has been hard, but it has brought us closer together,” he reveals.
“She is doing good on the journey. I hate that word but it is a journey.
“Ups and downs and lefts and rights but all going the right way at the end of the day. That is all that matters.”
The couple, who recently celebrated their two-year anniversary, were filming a “life hack” video when the accident happened.
AJ and Abbie had intended to show how a glass bottle could be cut in half so it could then be used as a vase.
But the technique – which involved dipping a rope into a flammable chemical, wrapping it around the bottle and lighting a flame – made the glass explode, setting Abbie on fire.
The model has been told to avoid sunlight and wear a compression vest for two years in order to have the best chance of a full recovery.
She also has to keep her skin very well moisturised so her scars will heal as quickly as possible.
After her accident, Abbie admitted to Naga Munchetty on BBC Radio 5 Live that she feared AJ would no longer love her because of the way she looked.
But the couple are now stronger than ever and AJ said they hope to work with burns charities to help highlight other potential fire dangers.
“We are going to do more charity stuff later in the year to help make people more aware,” he said.
“For example in the summer if you put hand sanitiser on your hands and it’s flammable and you go near the BBQ... many people burn their hands.”
AJ quit as a professional on Strictly Come Dancing last year and went on to take part in I’m a Celebrity, but says he has no plans to return to the show.
“I am not missing Strictly,” he said. “I am busy doing other things. As long as I am working, then I am happy.”
However, AJ praised his fellow pro dancer Anton Du Beke, who will step up to become a judge this season while Bruno Tonioli works on US show, Dancing With The Stars.
“Anton must be on cloud nine,” he said. “It’s so nice to have a ballroom dancer doing that job.
“It’s so good to have a true professional and you have got somebody who... and understands the pressure of the pro and celebs and the choreographing.
“He has been there from the beginning, too.”
