AJ Pritchard pays gushing tribute to ‘inspirational’ girlfriend Abbie as she celebrates birthday after horror accident
AJ PRITCHARD has gone the extra mile to make sure that his girlfriend Abbie Quinnen had a birthday she wouldn’t forget – praising her as an ‘inspiration’ after her horror fireball accident.
The ex-Strictly pro took his girlfriend to Hampton Court for the day to celebrate her big day with pals including brother Curtis Pritchard.
Lavishing her with gifts including pressies from Cartier, bubbly and flowers, AJ later shared a loved up message praising her bravery as she continues her miraculous recovery from her facial burns.
Sharing photos from the day, he wrote: ‘Happy Birthday [Abbie]. 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…’
Birthday girl Abbie responded: ‘Love you all the world. Thank you for making my birthday so special.’
She later posted photos of her own from their day, including their lush desserts and romantic pictures of her and AJ gazing at each other next to the picturesque river.
‘Had such a lovely birthday and got thoroughly spoilt,’ she wrote. ‘Thank you for all the lovely birthday messages love you all so much.’
Abbie suffered painful third-degree burns in a horrific fireball accident in January, after an attempt to recreate a TikTok trend went tragically wrong.
Attempting to create a glass out of a bottle by setting fire to a piece of string doused in lighter fluid, AJ acted fast and put out the flames as they engulfed his girlfriend.
However she was left with scars on her face, neck and shoulders, with Abbie later opening up about how the incident left her feeling devastated.
“I didn’t even recognise myself,” she told Fabulous. “All I could see were burns all over my face. I didn’t know if they would heal, I just didn’t want to look at myself or let anyone else see me.
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“It was during lockdown, but the doctors decided I needed to have one visit. AJ came in to see me, but I refused to allow him into the room.
“I couldn’t bear for him to see me. I also told him I wasn’t coming home; I was going to move back in to my mum’s. I just wanted to hide from the world – from everyone.”