Ed Sheeran wrote seven songs in four hours after learning of wife’s tumour diagnosis

The songwriter opens up about venting his emotions into his creativity in his new documentary.

Ayeesha Walsh

Mon, 1 May 2023 at 3:41 pm BST

Ed Sheerans’ wife has admitted that he wrote seven songs in four hours as he tried to process his emotions after she was diagnosed with cancer.

Heartbreaking scenes in his news documentary The Sum Of It All show the chart-topping singer overwhelmed with emotion as he sobs while recalling his fear that wife Cherry Seaborn might die.

Seaborn was six months pregnant with the couple’s second child when she was diagnosed with a tumour in February 2022.

She was then advised by doctors that she would have to wait until she had given birth to undergo surgery on the growth.

Using his musical skills as a way to vent his emotions Sheeran took to writing after learning of the diagnosis.

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.”

Seaborn managed to make it to the due date with their baby daughter Jupiter – sibling to their first born Lyra Antarctica – arriving in May 2022.

Sheeran also agreed that he had found writing for his latest album, Subtract, therapeutic.

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.

“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 he was also struggling to cope with the sudden death of his best friend Jamal Edwards.

Sheeran recently stood trial accused of plagiarism for his hit single Shape Of You by musicians Sami Chokri and Ross O’Donoghue who claimed he had copied their 2015 song, Oh Why.

Judge Mr Justice Zacaroli concluded the case stating that Sheeran had “neither deliberately nor subconsciously” copied a line from Oh Why and that there were significant differences to the two songs.

Commenting on the trial Sheeran said: “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.”