Singer Ed Sheeran reveals his wife Cherry Seaborn was diagnosed with a tumour while pregnant

Entertainment Correspondent Rishi Davda discusses the emotional revelations made by the singer-songwriter who said he spiralled 'through fear, depression and anxiety'.

Ed Sheeran has revealed his wife Cherry Seaborn was diagnosed with a tumour while she was pregnant with their second child last year, which couldn't be treated until after the birth.

The Suffolk couple welcomed their daughter in May 2022 and are also parents to Lyra Antarctica who was born in August 2020.

In an emotional post on Instagram to announce his new album, Subtract, the Suffolk singer-songwriter explained how the news of the tumour, the death of his close friend Jamal Edwards and a High Court copyright battle led to him "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," the 32-year-old revealed.

“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.

“For the first time I’m not trying to craft an album people will like, I’m merely putting something out that’s honest and true to where I am in my adult life.”

He said he had been working on the new album for a decade but the events of 2022 changed his "life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art"."Writing songs is my therapy," he added.

"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."

Sheeran recruited Aaron Dessner of The National, who collaborated on Taylor Swift’s lockdown records Folklore and Evermore, to help with the writing and production of the album.

Work began in February last year and the pair wrote more than 30 songs during a month of studio time, with 14 tracks making the final collection.

The result is described by his record label, Atlantic, as ranging from “pared back, folk-leaning textures to bolder, full-band/orchestral arrangements”.

Subtract will be released on 5 May.

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