Ed Sheeran is sharing a deeply personal and vulnerable side of his life with fans, revealing the emotional turmoil surrounding his wife, Cherry Seaborn’s, cancer diagnosis. In his new Disney+ docuseries, Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All, the global music star delves into the challenging period when he learned of Seaborn’s diagnosis during her pregnancy in February 2022.
The first episode, poignantly titled “Love,” features an intimate conversation between Sheeran and Seaborn, offering a rare glimpse into their private world. Seaborn, who typically prefers to stay out of the public eye, explains her decision to participate in the documentary, driven by a profound reflection on life and legacy following her health crisis.
“I got diagnosed with cancer at the start of the year which was a massive s—ter,” Seaborn candidly shares. “It made me massively reflect on our mortality. I would never agree to do anything like this but it made me think, ‘Oh if I died, what’s people’s perception of me? What do you leave behind?'” She further elaborated on Sheeran’s motivations, stating, “For Ed, the whole point is he wants to say to people, ‘I’m not just this music machine. I’m not just this robot that tries to get No. 1. I’m a father, I’m a son, I’m a friend.’ It wasn’t until this year when I was like, ‘I might die.'”
Sheeran, visibly moved, acknowledges the gravity of the situation, stating in a more serious tone that Seaborn was “playing it down” before becoming tearful as he described the experience as “horrible.” The emotional impact was so profound that Sheeran revealed he channeled his pain into songwriting, penning seven songs in just four hours as a coping mechanism.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(659×39:661×41)/ed-sheeran-cherry-050123-2-db4c24bbd5a54644898f93c54bd9af1f.jpg)
JMEnternational/Getty
Seaborn offers insight into Sheeran’s artistic process, noting, “When something really intense happens to him, he writes a song.” This creative outpouring is further explored in the docuseries and is deeply connected to Sheeran’s new album, Subtract.
Beyond the challenges, Sheeran also expresses the immense importance of Seaborn in his life. “It’s the most amazing thing in my life that nobody really knows about,” he says, emphasizing the positive impact she has had. “Everything in my life got so much better when she got into it.”
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(1049×109:1051×111)/ed-sheeran-cherry-050123-9a60c4c6a2e04180a12fad2320ecc0b8.jpg)
Ed Sheeran and Cherry Seaborn. Sofi Adams
The Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All docuseries offers viewers an unprecedented look into Sheeran’s personal life and the struggles he has faced. It is set to premiere on Disney+ this Wednesday, providing fans with a deeper understanding of the man behind the music.
Adding to this intensely personal period, Sheeran is also releasing his new album, Subtract (stylized as “-“), this Friday. He announced on March 1st that the album is a collection of his “deepest, darkest thoughts.” Originally conceived as an acoustic album a decade in the making, Subtract took a different direction following the events of early 2022.
Sheeran 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.” He described songwriting as his “therapy,” a way to process his emotions. In a remarkably short period, he replaced a decade’s worth of work with songs born from his most profound and challenging experiences.
The singer further detailed the difficult circumstances, “Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumour, with no route to treatment until after the birth.” This revelation, coupled with other personal hardships, inspired Sheeran to create an album that is raw, honest, and reflective of his current life. He describes Subtract as “opening the trapdoor into my soul,” marking a shift towards creating music that is true to his personal experiences rather than driven by commercial considerations. The album and docuseries together promise to offer fans a complete and intimate portrait of Ed Sheeran during a transformative period in his life, heavily influenced by Cherry Seaborn’s cancer diagnosis.
