Maura Higgins and Curtis Pritchard were in a relationship between 2019 and 2020. The romance started after Maura reached the final of 'Love Island.'
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Add BollywoodShaadis on GoogleIrish star Maura Higgins made her Dancing with the Stars debut on September 16, 2026, with a Traitors-inspired foxtrot alongside partner Mark Ballas. Dancing to Alannah Myles' Black Velvet, the pair opened with Ballas emerging from a coffin holding her iconic burgundy Hermès Birkin bag, a nod to her Traitors Season 4 betrayal.
Mark tossed the bag toward former castmate Rob Rausch in the audience. Judges were impressed, awarding the duo 21 out of 30. Maura’s latest performance on DWTS has brought her career and personal life into the limelight. While Maura is single now, her personal life came into discussion after she reached the final of Love Island in 2019 and began dating Curtis Pritchard.
Maura Higgins and Curtis Pritchard met on Love Island UK Season 5 in 2019. Curtis had initially been coupled with Amy Hart before connecting with Maura later in the series. They finished in fourth place and continued dating outside the villa, making their relationship official in October 2019 during a safari park date.
The romance lasted about eight months, leading to the duo’s split in March 2020. Both cited busy, conflicting work schedules as the main reason. In interviews after the split, Maura said they barely saw each other. She was competing on Dancing on Ice 2020, rehearsing daily and living away from London, while Curtis was working as the receptionist on BBC's The Greatest Dancer and touring with his brother AJ.
Maura Higgins told Fabulous Magazine that at the beginning it was very hard because she was so besotted with him, but they would go weeks without meeting, which strained their bond. There were other pressures. They had booked joint brand deals, PA appearances and parties that kept them tied together publicly even as feelings faded.
Tabloid reports at the time claimed Maura had felt pressured to stay together toward the end of 2019 and wanted to end it after the National Television Awards in January 2020, where they were photographed having a tense discussion.
Maura announced the split on Instagram Stories on March 2, 2020, writing there was no bad feeling and that they had tried to make it work. Curtis later told The Sun he was hurt that she posted it hours after their phone call agreeing to separate, saying he wanted time to process. Maura also framed it around life stage. She was 29 at the time and said she wanted someone she could see most days and see a future with, while Curtis was 24.
Maura also denied the speculations claiming that her closeness with Dancing on Ice partner Alex Demetriou caused the breakup, insisting they were just friends.
Curtis Pritchard is an English ballroom dancer and reality TV personality, born on 8 February 1996 in Stoke-on-Trent, England. He is the younger brother of former Strictly Come Dancing pro AJ Pritchard. Curtis first gained prominence as a professional dancer on Ireland's Dancing with the Stars in 2017 and 2018, partnered with Thalia Heffernan and Norah Casey.
Curtis missed the 2019 series after being attacked in a nightclub. He became a household name on Love Island UK Season 5 in 2019 as an original Islander, initially coupling with Amy Hart before pairing with Maura Higgins. They finished fourth.
After Curtis and Maura split in 2020, he returned to TV on The Greatest Dancer, Hollyoaks, and Celebs Go Dating in 2021. He continued appearing on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, Love Island Games, and Love Island: All Stars Season 2, where he finished third with Ekin-Su Culculoglu, and again as a bombshell in All Stars 2026.
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