Love Island’s Curtis Pritchard shuts down rumours he knew Maura Higgins beforehand

Setting the record straight...

Author: Tiffany WallisPublished 5th Sep 2019

Irish vixen Maura Higgins and professional dancer Curtis Pritchard have responded to rumours that they knew each other before they went on this year's series of Love Island.

Recent speculation has suggested that the couple knew each other before the show, and would have seen each other while working on the set of Dancing With The Stars Ireland.

Curtis was a professional dancer on the Irish version of Strictly Come Dancing, while Maura worked for the show's brand ambassador, Bellamianta.

The couple were interviewed on the This Morning sofa on Wednesday about their blossoming relationship and to squash not only split rumours but also rumours that they knew each other before.

A judge from Dancing With The Stars recently told The Mirror, "I believe Maura had been out a few times to watch the show and apparently she and Curtis had cast eyes at each other".

During the interview, Curtis and Maura were quizzed about the claims but they both firmly denied ever meeting each other.

Curtis said, "We will have been in the same building but I never saw her."

However, Love Island wasn't the first time the couple laid eyes on each other, as when bombshell Maura entered the villa, Curtis revealed he had previously slid into her DMs.

The couple joked about the 'encounter' during the interview and Curtis confessed to having a "a little scroll", despite Maura ignoring his advances.

Maura also made a subtle dig at eagle-eyed fans who suggested the couple had split due to not posting about each other on social media. The fiery ring-girl insisted that the couple ‘don’t need to prove they’re happy’ by flooding Instagram with gushing posts.

The couple came fourth on Love Island 2019 and since entering the real world, have faced speculation that their romance was over.

Curtis recently attempted to squash the claims on Lorraine by revealing, "Things are going fantastic...I left her in bed this morning."

Curtis, who had an awkward reunion with his ex-flame Amy Hart on the Love Island reunion show, also recently made headlines when talking honestly about his sexuality and revealing he would never rule anything out.

Check out the best Love Island transformations below:

NOW: Tommy Fury

Age: 20
From: Manchester
Occupation: boxer
What's your claim to fame? It's probably my brother, Tyson, but I'm my own man and I've said it throughout my whole boxing career. I don't want to be labelled as his little brother.

THEN: Tommy Fury

A fresh-faced Tommy was destined to be a boxer from a young age, posting this adorable snap of himself to his Instagram page in 2015.

NOW: Lucie Donlan

Age: 21
From: Newquay
Occupation: surfer
Claim to fame: The last guy I was with was Charlie Frederick from last year's Love Island. We got together a few weeks after he came out of the villa.

THEN: Lucie Donlan

Surfer girl Lucie has always been a fan of the water sport, posting this stunning snap of herself to her Instagram page back in 2014.
In 2018, Lucie posted a number of transformation pics to her social media accounts, showing off her two stone weight-loss.

NOW: Amy Hart

Age: 26
From: Worthing, Sussex
Occupation: Air hostess / cabin crew manager
Celebrity crush: Liam Hemsworth, he's fit. Ashley Banjo from Diversity is really fit.

THEN: Amy Hart

Amy looks totally different in this throwback snap she posted to her Instagram page in 2017, to celebrate working as an air-hostess for seven years!

NOW: Yewande Biala

Age: 22
From: Dublin, Ireland
Occupation: Scientist
Celebrity crush: Anthony Joshua

THEN: Yewande Biala

Yewande posted this snap on her Instagram page back in 2016, after she graduated from university with a First class Honours in Biotechnology.

NOW: Anton Danyluk

Age: 24
From: Airdrie, Scotland
Occupation: gym owner
Will you be loyal or do you have a wandering eye? That's a medical condition that I have… a wandering eye! I've never really been loyal in any of my relationships.

THEN: Anton Danyluk

Before entering the Love Island villa, Scottish hunk Anton posted this photo on Instagram, showing off his incredible body transformation over a 16-week period.

NOW: Anna Vakili

Age: 28
From: London
Occupation: Pharmacist
What's your definition of girl code? This is really difficult because the island isn't a normal place, the real world is different. I don't know how close I can get to a girl in a few weeks. If a guy likes me, I'm there for love at the end of the day, not girls.

THEN: Anna Vakili

London girl Anna doesn't look much different from this Instagram pic she uploaded two years ago.

NOW: Joe Garratt

Age: 22
From: South East London
Occupation: Catering company owner
What song sums up your love life? 'How Am I Supposed to Live Without You' by Michael Bolton.

THEN: Joe Garratt

Before he let the curls loose, Joe looked super cute in this snap uploaded with his friend back in 2015.

NOW: Michael Griffiths

Age: 27
From: Liverpool
Occupation: Firefighter
How would you rate your looks on a scale of one to ten? I'd rate myself ten out of ten, I would have said nine but I'm a hero so it bumps it up.

THEN: Michael Griffiths

We can't deal with the cuteness of Michael in this snap from 2014.

Callum Macleod

Age: 28
From: South Wales
Occupation: Aircraft engineer
What song sums up your love life? 'I Just Haven't Met You Yet' by Michael Bublé.

THEN: Callum Macleod

He only lasted in the villa for five days, but Callum's hair is giving us serious vibes on this school throwback.

NOW: Curtis Pritchard

Age: 23
From: Shropshire
Occupation: Ballroom and Latin dancer
What's your claim to fame? I would say my claim to fame is that I'm on Dancing with the Stars Ireland and AJ Pritchard from Strictly Come Dancing is my brother.

THEN: Curtis Pritchard

Aww! Ballroom dancer Curtis looking VERY smart before a show back in 2014. Look at that bow-tie!

NOW: Molly-Mae Hague

Age: 20
From: Hertfordshire
Occupation: Social media influencer

THEN: Molly-Mae Hague

Stunner Molly-Mae posted this photo back in 2017, so we suspect she's deleted earlier ones from her account before entering the villa.

NOW: Maura Higgins

Age: 28
From: Ireland
Occupation: Model and grid girl

THEN: Maura Higgins

Irish beauty Maura looks a lot different in this snap she posted back in 2013.

NOW: Tom Walker

Age: 29
From: Leeds
Occupation: Model

THEN: Tom Walker

Tom has always been a hunk! Here he is pictured back in 2012!

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