Alex Joseph Pritchard, best known for his stage AJ Pritchard, is an English professional dancer and choreographer. He got his first big name in 2013 when he took part in the 7th round of the England’s Got Talent talent show competition. He had a pretty impressive run in the competition as he made it to the semi-finals alongside longtime partner Chloe Hewitt. Recently, Pritchard became known for his performance in the BBC One dance competition Strictly Come Dancing having joined the show in 2016.
Who is AJ Pritchard?
Alex Joseph Pritchard was born on the 5th day of November 1994, in the town of Staffordshire, England, Stoke-on-Trent. His parents are Debi and Adrian Pritchard and he grew up with one sibling, a brother called Curtis. At an early age, he began honing his dancing skills at Pritchard’s Dance and Fitness Academy, a dance school run by his parents. He finally started dancing competitively at the age of twelve.
Pritchard formed an early partnership with Chloé Hewitt and together they are known as “AJ & Chloe”. The duo have represented their home country of Great Britain at various dance championships around the world. Among several notable achievements, AJ & Chloe won the Youth Latin National Championships for 3 consecutive years (2012-14). In 2015, this successful dance duo won the British Open Youth Latin Championship and the European Youth Latin Championship from the World DanceSport Federation (WDSF).
In 2013, AJ Pritchard and his dance partner decided to exercise their dancing skills in the world of showbiz and television by auditioning for the series Seven of England’s Got Talent . They performed well in the series and were able to reach the semi-finals live.
Pritchard signed in 2016 as a professional dancer in the BBC dance competition Strictly Come Dancing . For the 14th round of the series, he was paired with Olympic gymnast Claudia Fragapane and they finished in 4th position. For the 15th series, her celebrity partner was Mollie King, a music star who was part of the British pop group ‘The Saturdays’. Together they finished 5th overall. In 2018, Pritchard teamed up with Paralympian Lauren Steadman for the 16th round of Strictly Come Dancing and they also finished in 5th place.
Brother
Interestingly, AJ Pritchard is not the only member of his family with incredible dancing skills, his younger brother, Curtis, is also an experienced dancer and choreographer. Just like his older brother, Curtis Pritchard has also represented the UK at several World and European Championships and has been featured in the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars since 2017.
Sadly, AJ Pritchard and his brother Curtis fell victim to an unprovoked attack at a night club on December 27, 2018. Both brothers were injured to varying degrees, with Curtis undergoing emergency knee surgery.
Relationship status
From publicly available information, AJPritchard appears to be single. Despite spending most of his life in the spotlight, the professional dancer has managed to keep this aspect of his private life under wraps. However, there have been several speculations in the past regarding Pritchard’s love life.
In 2017, Pritchard reportedly had a relationship with Mollie King, his Strictly Come Dancing partner at the time. The two were known for having impeccable chemistry on the dance floor during their time on the show, which later developed into a real friendship, but they never confirmed if their relationship was exclusive. The romance rumors finally ended when Mollie started dating England cricketer Stuart Broad.
AJ Pritchard has also been linked with British Paralympic athlete Lauren Steadman, a 2018 Strictly Come Dancing co-contestant . However, none of the parties involved have confirmed.
Who is the partner or the girlfriend? Is he gay?
While the true details of AJ Pritchard’s dating story continue to elude the media, there is also a level of uncertainty surrounding the pro dancer’s sexuality. Although he has only been linked to people of the opposite sex in the past, Pritchard is known to have garnered a lot of admiration from the LGBT community since joining the team. Strictly Come Dancing in 2016.
Beyond these contrasting factors, it’s interesting to know that Pritchard prefers to keep his sexuality ambiguous. In a 2018 interview, the award-winning dancer revealed there’s no need to define her sexual preferences.