Entertainment
AJ Pritchard praises ‘inspirational’ girlfriend Abbie Quinnen as she celebrates birthday after horror fire
AJ Pritchard shared a sweet birthday tribute to his girlfriend Abbie Quinnen following the freak fire accident that left her with serious burns.
I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here star AJ pulled out all the stops for Abbie’s 24th birthday this weekend, decorating their flat with huge balloons and filling the living room with presents and a cake.
In an Instagram post of them posing together, the professional dancer praised Abbie for her bravery after the incident, which saw her engulfed in flames while filming a life hack video in January.
AJ, 26, wrote: ‘Happy Birthday @abbiequinnen .. You have been so strong these past weeks. Your strength has kept me so positive when it’s been hard.
‘Seeing you reply to so many people about your experience & helping people come to terms with their struggles is truly inspirational 🙏🏻❤️.. You deserve to have the best birthday to date… #loveyou.’
Clearly touched by AJ’s heartfelt words, Abbie replied: ‘Love you all the world ❤️. Thank you for making my birthday so special.’
In her own Instagram post, Abbie – who is also a dancer – said: ‘Had such a lovely birthday 🥳 and got thoroughly spoilt 🙊thank you for all the lovely birthday messages love you all so much ❤️❤️❤️.’
The couple celebrated her birthday with lunch at The Mitre in Hampton Court and were joined by AJ’s younger brother Curtis Pritchard and friend Callum Barrott.
It comes just days after Abbie gave her first TV interview since the fire happened four months ago.
Speaking on ITV’s Lorraine, the dancer opened up about her third-degree burn injuries and said: ‘I think when it happened I was just thinking the worst, my face is never going to look the same again.
‘[I thought] I was always going to have scars on my body, I’m never going to be able to dance or perform and do what I love doing, so I instantly thought that was it for me. Luckily my face is healing really well.’
AJ and Abbie began dating in May 2018 and have been going strong since.
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