Global superstar Ed Sheeran has made a heartfelt admission about his need to put his family first, announcing a significant change to his career that will see him drastically reduce time spent on the road.
A New Chapter: From World Tours to Home Comforts
The 34-year-old singer-songwriter, famed for hits like The A Team, explained that as his two young daughters—Lyra and Jupiter—prepare to start school next year, he no longer wishes to be away from them and his wife, Cherry Seaborn, 33, for extended periods. This decision comes after fans expressed concern over the state of his marriage, hinted at in the raw lyrics of his latest album.
Sheeran's solution is a groundbreaking move for an artist of his stature. He is reportedly planning to construct a state-of-the-art performance venue near his home in Suffolk. This would allow him to undertake a long-running residency, effectively cutting out the relentless international travel that has defined his recent years.
Cutting Out the Noise: Family, Songwriting, and Shows
In an interview with The Sun, Sheeran outlined his refined priorities. "I wrote down a list the other day of things that matter to me and one is my family, one is songwriting, one is doing shows," he stated. "If I can get to a point where I'm playing shows, writing songs and hanging out with my family, then you can cut the noise out."
He confirmed the local venue plan is key to this vision. "I looked into the idea of building a venue in my hometown and doing a residency there. That then cuts out the travel and being away from my family," Sheeran explained, adding that he has already built a nearby studio to facilitate this new, settled working model.
The Toll of Touring and Personal Struggles
This shift follows an incredibly demanding period for the artist. His recent Mathematics Tour comprised 188 shows across five continents between April 2022 and September this year, playing to 8.8 million fans and grossing a staggering £655.8 million. This succeeded his previous Divide tour (2017-2019), which earned £581.3 million.
The personal cost of such a schedule is echoed in his latest music, which contains candid references to marital difficulties. Tracks like Skeletons allude to late-night arguments, while in Technicolor he admits his "attention's been divided." Songs such as Satellite and Crashing express a desperate desire to make peace and mend fences, with lyrics pleading "I'd give anything for us" in the song Rapture.
The couple, who grew up together in Suffolk, began dating in 2015 and married in an intimate 40-person ceremony in late 2018. They have faced severe challenges, including Cherry's diagnosis with a tumour in her arm during her second pregnancy in February 2022, which Sheeran said made him feel like he was "drowning."
By choosing to root his future career in Suffolk, Ed Sheeran is making a definitive statement: his role as a husband and father now takes precedence, shaping a revolutionary new chapter for one of the world's most successful touring artists.
