AJ’s Pritchard’s girlfriend Abbie Quinnen has opened up about an accident that left her with third degree burns and needing skin grafts.
The 23-year-old was engulfed in a fire ball in an incident which occurred when she and Pritchard were testing out a stunt for a video they wanted to create in January.
The aim of the lifehack stunt was to cut a glass bottle in half so it could be used as a vase. The dangerous trick involved wrapping the bottle in rope soaked in a flammable chemical and setting it alight.
Quinnen told The Sun: “My hair caught fire and within seconds the flames had spread to my top and my body was alight.
“It was such a shock, I was panicking and screaming. I dropped down to the floor and I was rolling to try to put out the fire.
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“I saw my life flash before my eyes. I never thought something like that would happen to me.
“The first thing I said to AJ was, ‘Is my face going to be OK? Are you still going to love me?"
Quinnen said she was bed-bound following the accident in January and has had multiple surgeries since in a bid to help with her injuries.
When Quinnen was initially rushed to hospital, Pritchard was not allowed inside with her due to Covid regulations and instead waited outside all night with his brother Curtis.
Quinnen had to have three skin grafts to reduce scarring from her burns and said she cried before each operation.
The dancer said her boyfriend has reassured her "constantly" and told her they will be "together forever".
Pritchard has also cared for her with help from his mother.
Quinnen told how Claudia Winkleman, whose daughter also suffered burns in a domestic accident in 2014, contacted her with words of comfort.
She said: “I was so happy Claudia got in touch, it was awful what happened to her daughter.
“I’ve been communicating on social media and reading about people’s journeys gives me hope.”
