Who is Abbie Quinnen? Dancer AJ Pritchard's girlfriend suffers third-degree burns after failed YouTube stunt
'Strictly Come Dancing' star AJ Pritchard's girlfriend, Abbie Quinnen took to Instagram to reveal the reason for her absence from social media and said that after a failed attempt to copy a YouTube stunt, she was left with injuries and burns, leading her to seek continuous hospital treatment for the past seven weeks.
Quinnen, who is also a dancer, shared on Instagram, "I am sad i have been absent in the last few weeks & haven't posted much with AJ, we so desperately wanted to be able to share daily vlogs with you all but Unfortunately I have had an accident. Whilst we were attempting to create a glass bottle into a vase from following a YouTube tutorial, it went terribly wrong and it resulted in me incurring injuries & burns requiring continuous hospital treatment over the past 7 weeks."
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She then cautioned her followers, writing, "I really need you all to be so careful with what you're doing & if you are copying any YouTube videos. I will be ok! I love you all!"
She also thanked the medical staff who treated her, writing, "I also want to say a massive thank you to the nurses and doctors at the Chelsea and Westminster burns unit for their incredible care & treatment."
According to The Sun, the bottle exploded in Quinnen's face and set her hair and clothing on fire, which caused third-degree burns. The 'I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!' star doused the flames with a wet tea towel and dialed for emergency services. However, after he was told an ambulance would take a while to arrive, Pritchard and his brother, 'Love Island' star Curtis drove Quinnen to the hospital themselves.
A source told the outlet, "Abbie was shocked and in a great deal of pain but AJ sprang into action to put out the fire with a wet tea towel. He was terrified himself but he did all he could to stop her from burning."
According to the report, 23-year-old Quinnen suffered third-degree burns and doctors fought to save her face and arms from severe scarring. She has made 20 hospital visits since the accident and has needed three skin grafts. The Sun also noted that Quinnen fears for her career, while Pritchard is devastated over the incident and has become her full-time nurse, taking charge of dressing her bandages.
The risky trick attempted by the couple involved dipping a rope in a flammable chemical, wrapping it around the bottle and lighting a flame to it to cut a glass bottle in half.
Following the accident, Quinnen was admitted to intensive care before being transferred to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital's specialist burns unit the following day.
Quinnen and Pritchard started dating in 2018, according to The Sun. Quinnen, like Pritchard, is a dancer and trains at The Urdang Academy in Islington. She is managed by Apollo Artist Management, an agency that counts a number of film, musical and television stars as its clients. Quinnen has also done several modeling shoots and frequently posts on Instagram about herself and Pritchard.