01 April 2023 , 08:00
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Ed Sheeran might now be loved-up with schoolfriend Cherry Seaborn, but his road to love has been paved with heartbreak.
His childhood sweetheart was the inspiration behind his hit single ‘Perfect’, released in 2017.
The singer was so smitten he popped the question, announcing their happy news in a rare Instagram snap with Cherry in January 2018.
“Got myself a fiancé just before new year. We are very happy and in love, and our cats are chuffed as well x,” he captioned the post.
A year later Ed announced the low-profile couple had secretly tied the knot in the grounds of their Suffolk home with just 40 guests in attendance.
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Since then, Ed, 32, and Cherry, 30, have become parents to two daughters, who they have given quite unusual names.
Ed is loved up with wife Cherry these days and they share two daughters (Getty Images)Lyra Antarctica was born in August 2020, so will be three later this year. Little sister Jupiter arrived in May 2022, so is almost one, but fans didn’t even know Cherry was pregnant.
But before Ed found love with Cherry, he hadn’t always kept his love life out of the spotlight.
The singer-songwriter has been linked to a string of famous women over the years, including Ellie Goulding, Taylor Swift and Nicole Scherzinger.
Actresses Selena Gomez and Courteney Cox, Victoria’s Secret model Barbara Palvin and Irish reality star Louisa Johnston are also said to be ex loves, although none have ever been confirmed.
He was even rumoured to have romanced Clint Eastwood’s daughter, Francesca Eastwood, after meeting her at a party.
Ed was thought to have been seeing singer Ellie Goulding (FilmMagic for MTV)But whether they were girlfriends or just good friends, Ed has a piece of advice for any fellow celebs having relationships in the public eye.
He previously said: “I’ve learned a lot of things being in this industry by doing things right – and doing things wrong.
“One thing I’ve learned is mixing the public with the personal life always ends in tears... so I’m not going to talk about that side of things any longer.’
Ed has since stayed true to his word, which is probably the reason he keeps his personal life with Cherry and the kids so private.
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Another reason Ed might choose to keep schtum these days is because he was betrayed by a former lover in the past.
He has also been linked to Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger (Getty Images)Although he has never publicly named who his song Don’t is about, he told The Mirror a former girlfriend inspired the hit.
It features the lines: “Told her I'm not really looking for another mistake, called an old friend thinking that the trouble would wait, but then I jumped right in a week later returned, I reckon she was only looking for a lover to burn."
Ed confessed: “The story in Don’t is 100% true... I could have gotten nastier – there was more s*** that I didn’t put in.
“I was seeing someone for a bit, and then they ended up physically involved with one of my friends in the same hotel that we were staying in, while I was downstairs.
“And I feel like, ‘Treat people how you want to be treated.’”
Fans later speculated the song referred to Burn singer Ellie Goulding and One Direction star Niall Horan.
Were Taylor and Selena just good friends? (WireImage)In the past year, Ed has dealt with wife Cherry having a tumour – which was discovered while she was pregnant with their second child.
He also lost his pal Jamal Edwards, who helped launched his music career through his YouTube channel SBTV.
Speaking on The Jonathan Ross Show, Ed shared he had recently been in therapy to help deal with everything.
He said: “My wife had a health scare complication and then Jamal died and then I went straight into a court case. Then I had another friend die while in the court case.
“I’ve always had ups and downs in my career. It’s the English thing isn’t it, ‘Keep calm and carry on’. I feel like therapy in America is far more accepted, whereas here no-one really talks about it.”
Courteney Cox was a rumoured romance, but they say they are just good pals (Instagram)He admitted he felt “ashamed” even thinking about seeing a therapist after a “really low three months”, but said it was wife Cherry who talked him into it.
Discussing his own experience, Ed said: “It’s not like a button you press and you go, ‘I’m automatically ok’, but it definitely helps.
“I would recommend if anyone’s having real lows. Just speaking to someone who is paid to hear you out and normalise it and be like, ‘It’s ok to think like that.’
“I’m in a super privileged position in my career and life and if I speak to my friends and say this is going on and I feel like this, usually the answer is… money can’t bring back your dead mate, you know.”
Ed’s latest track Eyes Closed is about his friend Jamal and appears on his new album Subtract, out on May 5.
*Watch Ed perform on The Jonathan Ross Show on Saturday April 1 at 9.40pm on ITV1 and ITVX