Ed Sheeran wife: who is Cherry Seaborn, what is her age, how did he meet wife, what did he say about tumour?

Multi-award winning singer Ed Sheeran is known for producing some of the most heart-felt, romantic songs of recent times. Now, he’s about to release a new album called Subtract and recently revealed that the tracks included on the record are influenced by a series of difficult events in his personal life during 2022 - including his wife being diagnosed with a tumour while she was pregnant with their second child last year.

Sheeran revealed in a statement released earlier this month that he and Seaborn were told by doctors that she had a tumour while she was carrying their daughter, who was born in May, “with no route to treatment until after the birth”. He did not give details of Seaborn’s current health status as the couple are very private and rarely release details about their relationship and family life.

But, what do we know about the woman who is married to one of the world’s best selling music artists? Here’s everything we do know about Cherry Seaborn.

How long have Ed Sheeran and Cherry Seaborn been together?

Sheeran and Seaborn first met when they attended the same secondary school together. They were friends when they met at Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham, Suffolk, but they didn’t start dating until they met up again in later life. They met again, in their mid-twenties, in 2015, and began a romantic relationship.

How old are Ed Sheeran and Cherry Seaborn?

Sheeran was born on 17 February 1991, which means he is now 32-years-old. His wife was born on 6 May 1992, and is now 30-years-old.

In 2022, to mark this milestone birthday, Sheeran posted a sweet tribute to his wife on his official Instagram page. Alongside a rare photo of them together he wrote: “HBD (happy birthday) to ma baby mama. 30 looks good on you.”

When did Ed Sheeran and Cherry Seaborn get married?

Sheeran and Seaborn tied the knot in a private ceremony in January 2019. During a chat with Jessie Ware on her Table Manners podcast in 2021, Sheeran revealed some details about their big day for the first time, according to Hello Magazine. He said: "Me and Cherry’s actual wedding was a tiny affair, with hardly anyone there. We did it at night, on a random day in the middle of January, in the middle of nowhere”. He said that they exchanged their vows at midnight and added: "No one knew, no one came to it, we lit candles and we got married, went back and had a curry."

They then decided to have a bigger celebration with loved ones, including some famous friends a few months later, but mobile phones were banned. Sheeran said: "The wedding party was more a celebration of us and our friends. I didn’t want pictures getting out and I’m surprised they didn’t. Everyone was very present."

What did Ed Sheeran say about Cherry Seaborn’s tumour?

Sheeran revealed that his wife had been diagnosed with a tumour in a statement released earlier this month to promote his latest album Subtract. He also wrote about other painful life events which impacted on his song-writing process, such as the death of his close friend Jamal Edwards and the high court battle he had to go through, which he won, after two songwriters claimed his 2017 hit Shape Of You infringed copyright of their song Oh Why.

He wrote: “I had been working on Subtract for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be. Then at the start of 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 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. Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumour, with no route to treatment until after the birth. My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter.

“I was 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.”

He added: “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. This is last February’s diary entry and my way of making sense of it. This is Subtract.”

Has Cherry Seaborn inspired any of Ed Sheeran’s songs?

Yes, Seaborn is said to have inspired some of Sheeran’s hit songs. He wrote the song ‘Perfect’ for his childhood sweetheart while they were engaged. He told an US magazine: “Perfect was the first song that I wrote for the album - it was inspired by Cherry,” according to HeatWorld. He continued: “The line that goes, ‘Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favourite song’ was about when we were in Ibiza listening to Future’s March Madness literally not wearing any shoes and going mental on the lawn, which was quite a nice time. I didn’t see her first reaction to the song because she lived in New York at the time. So I just emailed it to her but she did really like it."

How many children do Ed Sheeran and Cherry Seaborn have?

Sheeran and Seaborn have two children, both girls. It was first reported on 12 August 2020 that the couple were expecting their first child and shortly afterwards, On 1 September, Sheeran announced on his official Instagram page that Seaborn had given birth to a baby girl the week before. On 19 May 2022, it was then announced via Sheeran’s page on the social media site that the couple’s second daughter had been born. This was news to fans who did not know that Seaborn had been expecting for a second time.

When the couple’s first child, named Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran, was born the proud dad posted an image on his Instagram page.

He wrote: “Ello! A quick message from me as I have some personal news that I wanted to share with you... Last week, with the help of an amazing delivery team, Cherry gave birth to our beautiful and healthy daughter - Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran. We are completely in love with her. Both mum and baby are doing amazing and we are on cloud nine over here. We hope that you can respect our privacy at this time. Lots of love and I’ll see you when it’s time to come back, Ed x.”

The name for their oldest child, now aged two and a half, was inspired by the protagonist in the Phillip Pullman fantasy-novel series ‘His Dark Materials’. Sheeran told Lorraine Kelly on her namesake ITV morning TV show in 2020 that the couple chose Lyra as they wanted a “unique” name for their newborn daughter. He also previously labelled the books as the “greatest love story ever told”.

Announcing the birth of his second daughter, Sheeran posted a photo of a pair of baby socks and wrote “want to let you all know we’ve had another beautiful baby girl. We are both so in love with her.”

It was revealed in The Sun in July 2022 that the baby is called Jupiter Seaborn Sheeran.