Ed Sheeran reveals wife Cherry was diagnosed with tumour while pregnant and discusses his depression

Ed Sheeran has revealed that his wife Cherry was diagnosed with a tumor while pregnant with their second child.

The couple welcomed daughter Jupiter in May 2022 and are also parents to Lyra Antarctica, two.

The singer and his childhood sweetheart kept the pregnancy a secret, but has now revealed that the couple were plagued by “fear, depression and anxiety” because Cherry was diagnosed with a tumor that she couldn’t have treated until after giving birth.

In an Instagram post on Wednesday, the 31-year-old singer explained that he struggled with his mental health last year as he tried to come to terms with his wife’s health issues and the loss of his best friend Jamal Edwards.

Jamal, music producer and son of Loose Women star Brenda Edwards, tragically died after cardiac arrest brought on by taking cocaine and drinking alcohol in February 2022.

Ed announced the release of his sixth studio album, Subtract, in the post, explaining that he was inspired by the personal tragedies he faced.

He wrote: ‘I had been working on Subtract for a decade, trying to carve out the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be.

Then, in early 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art.

‘Writing songs is my therapy. It helps me make sense of my feelings. I wrote without thinking about what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever came out. And in a little over a week I replaced a decade’s worth of work with my deepest, darkest thoughts.

‘Within a month, my pregnant wife was told she had a tumor, with no possibility of treatment until after the delivery.

‘My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly and I found myself in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter.

‘I was spiraling through fear, depression and anxiety. I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but unable to get air.

“As an artist, I didn’t feel like I could put a credible body of work out into the world that didn’t accurately represent where I am and how I need to express myself at this time in my life.”

Ed continued: ‘This album is purely that. He is opening the trap door in my soul. For the first time, I’m not trying to create an album that people like, I’m just putting out something that is honest and true to my adult life.

‘This is last February’s journal entry and my way of making sense of it. This is Subtract.

Subtract is the finale in his decade-long math series, following 2021’s Equals, 2017’s Divide, 2014’s Multiply, and 2011’s Plus.

Along with the news of his new album, the father of two released a series of images taken by acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz.

He also shared a touching video of himself walking on the beach while song titles were shown written in the sand, at one point climbing a shaky ladder that fell on him.

Earlier this month, Ed revealed that some “turbulent things” had happened to him in his personal life, as he returned to social media after a long break.

The singer admitted that he hasn’t been as ‘engaged’ with his fans online as he would have liked, with many of his recent posts simply promoting his music and tour performances.

In a video he shared on Instagram, Ed explained that he didn’t want to “pretend to be something he wasn’t” by posting during his personal struggles, but vowed that he hoped to be more active with his followers in the future. weeks.

Ed explained: “I realize I haven’t been as involved in my social media or fan base in recent years and the stuff that’s been posted on this account may have gotten a bit boring, sorry it’s my blame”. .

“The reason I’m making this video, to be totally honest, I’ve had some turbulent things going on in my personal life, so I really didn’t feel like going online and pretending to be something I’m not when I really don’t feel that way. .

Ed then added: ‘I know it sounds weird, but therefore I’m making this video to say that things are looking up and I’m back online.

‘So you know, weird stuff will start posting here. I’ve done this video like 50 fucking times and I’m not going to do another one!’

In November, Ed told his followers that he was taking a break from social media after finishing work on a new music video.

Sharing a behind-the-scenes snapshot overlooking a beach, he wrote the caption: ‘Log out now until 2023. See you in the new year. Much love, Ed x.’

Ed is in the middle of a world tour and is currently performing a series of shows in Australia and New Zealand.

She announced the news of the birth of her daughter Jupiter in May of last year in an Instagram post that read: “I want to let everyone know that we have had another beautiful baby girl.”

“We are both so in love with her, and we are thrilled to be a family of 4.”

The couple reportedly only confided in their closest relatives about the pregnancy.

Ed had previously revealed that having his daughter Lyra Antarctica was a ‘blessing’ and a ‘miracle’ after struggling to conceive with Cherry.

The singer recounted how the couple had booked medical appointments to check that everything was okay after “trying to have a child for a while”.

They then welcomed their first child after conceiving naturally while on vacation in Antarctica in 2019, inspiring the unusual name.

In October, the BRIT Award winner joked that he and Cherry were “in the trenches” while looking after their children.

Elaborating further, he said on Good Morning America: ‘They’ve been on tour with me. My second daughter was born while we were on tour, but my first daughter comes to shows, she’s very conscious.

“I think it assumes everyone else’s dad sings, though,” Ed quipped.

‘It’s every cliché that people say about parenthood. You love both children exactly the same but also in completely different ways. I really enjoy being the father of two children,” he continued.

Ed and Cherry were childhood sweethearts, having grown up together in the same town.

They rekindled their romance in 2014 and tied the knot in a small ceremony five years later.

“Me and Cherry’s royal wedding was a small affair, hardly anyone there,” Ed revealed to fellow musician Jessie Ware on his Table Manners podcast.

“We did it at night, on a random day in mid-January, in the middle of nowhere,” the Sing hitmaker added.

Three months before the couple welcomed their second child, Ed stayed devastated by the death of close friend Jamal.

The star paid tribute to his late friend earlier this month with a moving freestyle that he filmed at Stamford Bridge, the home of Chelsea FC, of ​​which Jamal was a fan.

Paying tribute to his friend during an interview with bbc newsEd said he thinks he wouldn’t be the star he is now without Jamal’s support.

“I really don’t think I would have been given the opportunities that I was given if it hadn’t been for Jamal putting his arm around me,” he said.

He added that he had been performing in the acoustic scene for several years before Jamal discovered him and asked him to perform on his YouTube channel.