Ed Sheeran has opened up about a difficult time in his life last year when he was “spiralling through fear, depression and anxiety”.
Ed revealed his wife, Cherry, was diagnosed with a tumour while she was pregnant with the couple’s second child, and that she couldn’t have treatment until after she gave birth.
On top of his wife's worrying diagnosis, the Shape of You singer's best friend Jamal Edwards, son of Loose Women star Brenda Edwards, tragically passed away, leading Sheeran to a dark place. Ed was also in court at the time, battling a copyright trial.
As he announced the release of his new album, Subtract, which is coming out on May 5, the 32-year-old spoke about the inspiration for writing the album and how his life changed in 2022.
He revealed, “I had been working on Subtract for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be".
"Then at the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art”.
“I wrote without thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out. And in just over a week I replaced a decade’s worth of work with my deepest darkest thoughts”.
The dad-of-two then mentioned Cherry’s worrying diagnosis. “Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumour, with no route to treatment until after the birth”.
“My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly, and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter”.
The Perfect singer added, “I was spiralling through fear, depression and anxiety. I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air”.
“As an artist I didn’t feel like I could credibly put a body of work into the world that didn’t accurately represent where I am and how I need to express myself at this point in my life. This album is purely that. It’s opening the trapdoor into my soul”.
Ed and his wife Cherry Seaborn share two daughters together. Their first born, Lyra Antarctica, was born in August 2020, while they welcomed their second daughter, Jupiter, into the world in May 2022.
