‘Love Island Games’: who is Curtis Pritchard?

A Love Island UK favorite has headed to Fiji for Love Island Games. And for those unfamiliar with the charming ballroom dancer, who is Curtis Pritchard?

Curtis is one of several former Islanders to star in the newest rendition of the popular reality show. Love Island Games, which airs on Peacock and releases a new episode every day except Saturdays, is a reality competition show pitting veterans from international iterations of Love Island against each other while also finding love in the island paradise.

The winning couple will fly out of Fiji with a $100,000 grand prize.

Curtis waltzed into the villa alongside three other UK stars, season 4’s Jack Fowler and season 7’s Liberty Poole and Tony Aromolaran. Curtis made a name for himself across the pond when he appeared in season 5 in 2019.

Curtis left Love Island UK season 5 with a genuine relationship, but they split less than a year later

He’s 27 years old and born in Stoke-on-Trent, Straffordshire, England. And the professional dancer and choreographer was one of season 5’s biggest stars. The former world champion made it to finale night as a day-one participant and placed fourth alongside Maura Higgins, the Irish fan favorite who he went on to date for around six months after the show.

Curtis’ friendship with professional boxer and half-brother of Tyson Fury — the reigning WBC heavyweight champion — Tommy Fury was a major storyline of the season. The two hit it off at the beginning of the season when they entered the villa together, and their hilarious yet deep connection followed them all the way to day 58 when the season wrapped. They remain good friends to this day.

However, it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows during Curtis’ Love Island experience.

He was involved in the harshest breakup of the season when he moved on from Amy Hart after they spent weeks coupled up. Curtis’ reservations about their relationship began to flare when the famous Casa Amor twist launched, and he broke things off with Amy. Devastated, Amy removed herself from the reality show, and Curtis eventually linked up with Maura.

During his introduction in Love Island Games episode 1, Curtis said that the two had split after they “both decided it wasn’t going to work out.” He also admitted that he wasn’t dancing as much as he used to, but he was ready to shake off the rust to find love inside the villa once again. He maintained that his priority was to find love over winning money, but his eyes did light up talking about the grand prize as well.

Curtis is focused on content creation with his brother

Although his dancing shoes are gathering dust in his closet, Curtis continues a busy life in the content creation realm. He has a large social media following with over 1.1 million followers on Instagram. Most recently, his page has been filled with videos of himself conducting street interviews as a partner with Fint — an investment app.

With his brother, A.J. Pritchard, he runs a YouTube channel called “Bros Torque Supercars,” and as the name indicates, the videos are all about driving and showing off cars. They also co-host Freedom Impact Trust, a podcast where they interview guests “who have harnessed the power of freedom, impact, and trust to create positive change in their worlds.”

Love Island isn’t the only reality show he’s been acquainted with. After leaving season 5, Curtis and Tommy starred in a three-episode series coined The Boxer and The Ballroom Dancer when the two swapped professions. During the last episode, which aired in December 2019, Tommy danced in a ballroom competition, and Curtis fought in his first-ever boxing match.

He’s also made other television appearances since then, like when he popped up on a U.K. dance competition show, The Greatest Dancer, in 2020 as a recurring celebrity, not a competitor, and in season 9 of Celebs Go Dating in 2021.

Before he rose to Love Island fame, Curtis was a professional dancer on the Irish version of Dancing With the Stars. All in all, he competed in two seasons of the show. His first stint was during 2017’s season 1, when he was partnered with model Thalia Heffernan and placed 10th. He returned in 2018 for season 2 as TV personality and businesswoman Norah Casey’s partner, and they finished 11th overall. Curtis was supposed to compete in the next season, but he had to pull himself from the show after he and his brother sustained injuries from an attack during a night out.

Will Curtis find love inside the villa and will it come with a cash prize? We’ll know by Love Island Games’ finale, which is set for Nov. 20.