Ed Sheeran has revealed that his wife, Cherry Seaborn, was diagnosed with a tumor last year while pregnant with their second child.
On Wednesday (March 1) morning, the 32-year-old 'Shape of You' singer announced his forthcoming album Subtract, which was inspired by a series of events that "changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art" last year.
This included his wife's health issues and the death of his close friend Jamal Edwards, who tragically passed away just over a year ago at the age of 31.
"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," he explained. "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."
Read Sheeran's post below:"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," the 'Perfect' vocalist continued.
"Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumor, with no route to treatment until after the birth," he disclosed of Seaborn - whom he welcomed a second daughter with last year.
"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 spiraling through fear, depression, and anxiety," the musician revealed - referencing a plagiarism case involving his song 'Shape of You'.
"I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air," he said, adding that this motivated him to put out a musical project that depicted what he was experiencing.
"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.
"This is last February's diary entry and my way of making sense of it. This is Subtract," Sheeran concluded.
The Grammy-winning singer married Seaborn - who he met when they attended school together - in 2019 and they have welcomed two daughters.
Sheeran's upcoming album - Subtract - is set to be released on May 5 and he has also announced dates for the North American leg of his ongoing + - = ÷ x (pronounced "Mathematics") Tour - where he will play stadium venues across the United States and Canada from May to September 2023.