DANCING ON AIR
CURTIS Pritchard came fourth on the ITV2's Love Island 2019 final, along with Irish grid girl Maura Higgins.
The pro dancer credited the beauty for making his time on the ITV2 series special. Here's what we know about the professional ballroom dancer and his budding romance with the Irish beauty...
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Who is Curtis Pritchard?
Just like his big bro AJ Pritchard, Curtis, 23, is a professional dancer and choreographer.
Although he's not on Strictly Come Dancing here in the UK, he was on the Irish equivalent Dancing With The Stars — which is how he met ex-girlfriend Emily Barker.
Thanks to his time on the dancing show, Curtis has already had a taste of fame before going on Love Island.
After a few partner swaps on the ITV2 show, he went on to rank fourth place with Maura Higgins on the show
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Are Curtis Pritchard and Maura Higgins official?
The couple may have came fourth place on Love island but they are still NOT official.
On August 4, he exclusively told The Sun: "Currently we’re not officially boyfriend and girlfriend.
"I’ve said to her I’m really happy with how everything is going and since we’ve gone on the outside I’ve got to know her even better.
“It’s the simple little things which make me like her even more, like being in the car singing along to music together, or going on a walk around the forest.
“She does so many cute things, like I was lying on the bed, really tired, and she walked past and undid my shoelaces and took my shoes off. I feel like we’ve got so much closer. I’m not seeing anyone else.”
We also exclusively revealed how Curtis wouldn't rule out have a relationship with a MAN.
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What has happened to Curtis Pritchard on Love Island?
- Curtis entered the Love Island villa in the last few minutes of episode one with Tommy Fury. However, with his good looks all of the girls were immediately impressed - particularly Amy Hart.
- When he had to choose a girl to couple up with he went for Amy, stealing her form Anton Danyluk.
- Curtis' date with Amy went well, although he still sees her as a friend.
- Things have been hotting up with Amy and they enjoyed a smooch under the covers before bedtime.
- Molly-Mae Hague chose to go on a date with Curtis but he was quick to friend zone her.
- Amy and Curtis have carried on as a couple after the first elimination, making it known that they don't plan on changing their status in the villa anytime soon.
- The pair shared a romantic breakfast set up for all the couples to get to know each other better.
- After sharing a passionate snog, Amy made a blunder by smearing her red lippy all over his face leading to a lot of laughs between the two lovebirds
- Curtis' relationship status has now changed - he's now off the market although he doesn't technically have a girlfriend. After spending the night in the Hideaway, Curtis and Amy decided to be each other's half boyfriend and half girlfriend, although they are 100 per cent exclusive.
- Curtis finds himself having to tell Amy to stop being so jealous about Joe and Lucie's decision to become an exclusive couple.
- Curtis played peacemaker with Michael Griffiths after Amber Gill had a strop with him for being fed dessert by new girl Maura Higgins - the dancing pro reassured him how much Amber secretly likes him.
- He then promised to help Joe Garratt patch things up between Lucie Donlan and Amy, after the pair fell out over a comment the former made.
- Curtis chose to continue being coupled up with Amy during episode 12's recoupling. But then, in a sudden twist, he received a text saying that contestants now had to vote on which couple they believe to be least compatible.
- In episode 13, Curtis confirmed to the boys that himself and Amy enjoyed some hands on fun under the covers.
- The couple were completely safe from elimination.
- After only getting a 7 out of 10 from Curtis in a kissing competition, he then got to redeem himself and take Amy out for a date.
- Bromance is hotting up as Tommy and Curtis kiss and declare their love.
- Curtis chose to couple up again with Amy in episode 19.
- Seeing a divide brewing in the villa, Curtis decided to try and play peace maker between Anna Vakili and Amber Gill and Danny Williams.
- A game in episode 21 revealed that the public think Curtis is the "perfect gentleman" but Amy always acts like he is "in the wrong". The couple quickly brushed off the claim, and Curtis spent his time helping BFF Tommy deal with revelations made about Molly-Mae Hague.
- Curtis along with his fellow Islanders discussed the potential chance of Lucie and Tommy getting back together, the dancing pro delved in on the topic, asking: “I have heard something through the grapevine, that somebody asked Lucie ‘would you go there with Tommy, is that a complete closed door?’ and she said ‘never say never’.”
- In episode 24, the ballroom dancer confided in Tommy that he would like to get to know the new girls, as he is unsure about his relationship with Amy.
- The Dancing with the Stars professional locked lips with Jourdan Riane during a challenge in episode 25.
- Curtis confessed to Jourdan that his head had been turned by her but after the model knocked him back he remained coupled up with his "half-girlfriend" Amy.
- AJ Pritchard's younger brother was forced to sleep on one of the day beds after admitting to Amy there are issues in their relationship.
- At the swings, Curtis admitted he may not be able to stay faithful to Amy, shattering her hopes of them returning back to how they were before Casa Amor.
- The couple have now split, leaving Amy brokenhearted.
- Poor heartbroken Amy had to watch her former love foxtrot with another woman when Curtis taught Maura some dance moves.
- He then faced the chop as he and Amy were left in the bottom two couples - it was then reported by The Sun that upset Amy quit the show after the dancer broke her heart.
- After Curtis and Amy were saved, she quit as it was too painful to be in the same villa as him.
- Curtis and Maura had their first kiss in episode 33 of Love Island during a racy lap dance challenge.
- New arrival Francesca Allen picked Curtis in the recoupling in episode 34, leaving Maura furious.
- In episode 35, Curtis felt torn between Maura and his new couple Francesca, saying he didn't want to push either of them away. Later he climbed on Maura's back and gave her a massage which did not impress love rival Francesca.
- The professional dancer made the bold decision to sleep on the daybed after Maura admitted to feeling uncomfortable seeing him in bed with Francesca.
- Curtis broke the news to Francesca that he would not be pursuing anything romantic with her after telling Maura he had picked her out of the two of them in episode 37.
- Curtis and Maura then spent their first night together outside on the day beds.
- Fans speculated that Curtis and Maura had sex after they were seen fumbling under the sheets.
- In episode 41, the Irish grid girl picked the ballroom professional to recouple with for the first time.
- In episode 42, Curtis and Maura enjoyed their first official date and appeared pretty smitten with each other - with Curtis even declaring he was the happiest he'd ever been.
- In the challenge which saw Islanders throw water at each other to fill in the blanks of the headlines, Curtis correctly guessed a headline which talked about Love Island fans accusing “bored” Molly-Mae of faking her love for Tommy, which absolutely infuriated the social media influencer. Plus Curtis and Maura were left irritated by a headline which accused their romance of being "fake".
- Curtis and Maura got to spend the night in the Hideaway but the next day she went against the ballroom pro and told Anna that Jordan was trying to crack on with India Reynolds in episode 44.
- The Dancing with the Stars pro and Maura had a huge falling out after Curtis revealed Jordan was interested in India and he advised him to go for it.
- In episode 46, Curtis and Maura went on their final date, with the pair enjoying a romantic meal while a woman played the harp.
- In episode 48, Curtis' parents entered the villa, and his mum had viewers in hysterics when she continued to pronounce Maura's name as "Moira", despite his attempts to correct her. Meanwhile, viewers weren't convinced about how Maura's mum felt about her daughter's relationship with the dancer. A dramatic final dumping saw the loved-up pair gain a place in the final.
- In the final on July 30, 2019, Curtis and Maura came in fourth place - losing out to winners Amber Gill and Greg O'Shea.
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What did Curtis Pritchard say about having sex in the villa?
Before entering the villa Curtis said that sex was a big fat "NO".
The dancer vowed to abstain during his Love Island experience as he thinks it should be a "private matter".
Speaking in Majorca ahead of his time in the villa, he said: “Joining Strictly is an opportunity that I would never turn down but who knows.
“I won’t be having sex on TV – that’s a private matter, if somebody does that, that’s what they want to do but it’s not what I would like to do.I feel it’s a very private matter and should be done behind closed doors, not for the world to see. It should be between you and your loved one.
“Kisses are fine. Everything further than that, it should be a private matter.”
But it seems the dancer did "do bits" with Amy during his time in the villa.
But he was seen turning down Maura by saying he was "too tired".
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Why did Curtis Pritchard and Emily Barker break up?
The pair broke up in early 2019 after two years together.
Opening up about the relationship, Curtis said: "We danced with each other from when we were twelve until we were fourteen, we were the champions.
"When we got older, we both ended up doing Dancing With The Stars in Ireland and got into a relationship.
"You spend a lot of time with each other when you’re dancing together.
"You’re always in a close proximity so it would be weird not to get feelings even if it’s just to be a best friend or if it’s to fall in love."
Neither Curtis or Emily have revealed exactly why they parted ways, however, she has spoken out to admit she loves being single.
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Did Curtis Pritchard slam Love Island before entering the villa?
Quite awkwardly just a matter of four months before entering the villa, Curtis slammed Love Island and said he would never go on it.
Back in January 2019, he told a student newspaper that though he was keen to do more television work, Love Island was far from his agenda.
Speaking to the publication, Curtis revealed: "I would like to do the Hunted show that AJ did, I think that'd be awesome.
"I'd like to do Bear Grylls Island as well, maybe also I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here... later in my career."
Hammering home his love for adventure programmes, he continued: "I'd like to see if I could do the challenges.
"Love Island, probably not."
When were Curtis and AJ Pritchard attacked?
In December 2018 Curtis and his brother AJ were beaten up by a gang of thugs in a nightclub attack in Cheshire.
The two men were kicked and punched in the face during the assault by eight yobs.
A witness in Nantwich, Cheshire, said: “They were like men possessed.”
The pair were enjoying a night out with friends when the yobs suddenly circled them.
One clubber said: “The brothers were having a relaxed evening with friends and AJ was posing for selfies with a few fans.
“But the eight lads took a disliking to the brothers and pushed Curtis hard. Then they started punching them, like they were possessed."
LATEST LOVE ISLAND GOSS
When was the Love Island 2019 final?
The Love Island 2019 final took place on Monday, July 29, 2019.
In a special extra long episode, the programme aired on ITV2 at 9pm until 10.35pm.
You can catch up with the drama on the ITV Hub.
A winter version of the show is expected in early 2020.
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