Global superstar Ed Sheeran has offered fans a profoundly personal and rare glimpse into his private life, making a candid admission about the significant strain his career placed on his marriage to childhood sweetheart Cherry Seaborn. The revelations come with the release of his emotionally charged eighth studio album, Play, which details the couple's battle to save their relationship.
The Toll of the Mathematics World Tour
The central conflict explored in the album stems from Sheeran's immense Mathematics World Tour, a mammoth undertaking that saw the singer, now 34, play 188 shows across five continents. During this nearly three-year period, his wife Cherry, 33, remained at the family home in Suffolk to care for their two young daughters, Lyra and Jupiter. The extended time apart created a deep rift, leading to what Sheeran describes as a series of blazing rows.
He doesn't shy away from this turmoil in his lyrics. On the track Problems, he sings with stark honesty: "Flowers in our garden are dying. When did the water run dry?... But you want the truth, we're not fine. We got problems, and we don't know how to solve them." The pressure was compounded by Sheeran's profound regrets about his role as a father, worrying that he had not been a good enough dad to his children.
Raw Lyrics and Public Struggles
The album's tracks serve as a raw, lyrical diary of this difficult chapter. In War Game, the lyrics hint at the couple being on the verge of a split: "Inches from movin' out and movin' on... either in love or we're insane." Another song, Regrets, sees the superstar shouldering the blame, expressing remorse for the time spent away from his family.
Sheeran also alludes to the unique challenge of arguing in the public eye, singing: "I push it down to avoid a situation, but all it does is come out in public places. Can't be as open when they recognise our faces." He further touches on his mental health, revealing that without the structure of work after becoming a dad, he slipped into depression again.
From Crisis to Resolution
However, the album is not solely a story of heartbreak. It also charts the couple's path to reconciliation. Tracks like Freedom and Crashing reveal that after intense crisis talks, Ed and Cherry managed to resolve their issues and rekindle their spark.
The album closes on a hopeful note, with songs like Technicolour affirming his undying love for Cherry. On Rapture, he powerfully reiterates his wedding vows, singing: "I don't just want you for the rapture. I want the twists and turns of a modern love... So that's how you and I will never fall apart."
Ed and Cherry, who first met at school aged 11, became a couple in 2015 and married in December 2018. They welcomed their first daughter, Lyra, in 2020, followed by Jupiter in 2022.
