AJ Pritchard has opened up about his financial struggles - explaining that he struggles with debts and is finding the ongoing cost of living crisis a struggle. The 30-year-old professional dancer fears the general public perceive him as a millionaire - and he insists he is far from it. The light-footed star found nationwide fame as a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing - a role he held from 2016 until 2019.
After wrapping up on the BBC show, AJ and his dancing brother Curtis, who is a Love Island star, planned an ambitious UK-wide tour. But the Covid pandemic cut the show dramatically short, and the brothers went in to debt as they made sure their team of dancers were all paid for the cancelled shows, while they made nothing themselves.
Admitting that he and his 28-year-old brother have made good money from their respective reality TV careers, he goes on to explain that once taxes, VAT and such like are considered, he is left with far less money than many might expect. He also expressed his hope that discussing his own finances could spark a nationwide discussion where people can feel less embarrassed about enduring financial hardship.
Opening up to the Daily Mail, AJ revealed: "[Curtis and I] had a company where we were running our own tour and the tour was literally cut short. We paid all of our dancers because personally I felt like that was the right thing to do and we ended up with a VAT bill, which came out of our own pocket. We didn't get paid, myself or Curtis, but we paid all of our dancers and it's a hard decision to be made, but that's what it is when you are running your own company.
