Ed Sheeran wrote seven songs in four hours day after wife's cancer diagnosis

01 May 2023 , 00:29

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Ed turned to song writing to help cope with his wife's cancer diagnosis (Image: Getty Images)

Ed Sheeran's wife has revealed how the star wrote seven songs in four hours after she was diagnoses with cancer.

Emotional scenes in his new documentary, The Sum of It All, show Ed, 32, sobbing, while he recalled his fears that wife, Cherry Seaborn, might die.

Cherry was diagnosed with a tumour in February 2022, while six months pregnant with the couple’s second child.

Medics advised Cherry she would have to wait until she had given birth to have surgery.

Cherry was unable to have surgery for her tumour until after she had given birth (Getty Images)

At the time of Cherry’s diagnosis, in order to cope with his fears, the singer-songwriter managed to get his feelings down on paper.

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Cherry said: “We had the diagnosis of the tumour and the next day Eds went down into the basement and wrote seven songs in four hours. Some people write a diary and get their emotions out through the pen and for Eds, if something really intense happens, he’ll go and write a song.”

Luckily, Cherry did not need to give birth early and baby daughter Jupiter was born in May 2022. The couple are also parents to daughter Lyra Antarctica.

Ed agreed that writing music for his new album Subtract has been cathartic. He said: “Music’s always been like therapy to me. It was a way to get me thoughts and feelings down as a kid, and it works. It really works.”

Ed uses song writing as a tool to help him cope with his emotions (Disney)

He continued: “The moment you find the worst thing has happened to someone you truly love, you feel like you’re drowning and can’t get out from under it.”

At the time, Ed had also been struggling with the death of his friend, music entrepreneur Jamal Edwards.

He also faced trial in a court case, in which he was accused of plagiarism. Musicians Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue argued Ed had plagiarised their 2015 song, Oh Why, with his hit Shape of You.

Cherry had been diagnosed with a tumour when six months pregnant

Judge Mr Justice Zacaroli concluded that Sheeran “neither deliberately nor subconsciously” copied a phrase from Oh Why, and that while there were similarities, there are significant differences between the two songs.

Ed responded to the trial, stating: ““Claims like this are way too common now and have become a culture where a claim is made with the idea that a settlement will be cheaper than taking it to court, even if there is no basis for the claim, and it’s really damaging to the songwriting industry.”

Sophie Goodall