Suffolk superstar Ed Sheeran has revealed his wife was diagnosed with a tumour during the pregnancy of their second child as he announced a new album.
Sheeran who had been recording videos throughout the county including Ipswich and Lowestoft revealed how Cherry Seaborn, who he married in 2019, was told by doctors she had a tumour while pregnant.
The Shape of You singer said he “spiralled through fear, depression and anxiety” last year after his wife's diagnosis.
Announcing his new album – (Subtract), which was influenced by those events, Sheeran said: “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.
“This is last February’s diary entry and my way of making sense of it. This is Subtract.”
Subtract will be released on May 5, Sheeran announced.
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