Ed Sheeran first hinted at marital problems on his album Autumn Variations, released in 2023.
And on Friday, Ed, 34, released a deluxe version of his latest album, Play, which had an additional 14 songs to the original version, which came out in September.
Of those 14 songs, it appears that eight of those tracks hint at trouble in paradise in the seven-year marriage, leading fans to fear they’re close to splitting up and are going through the famous ‘seven year itch.’
Ed and Cherry, 33, are parents to Lyra, five, and Jupiter, three – and there are also many references about desperately wanting to make things work and an honest account of how they have previously split and worked things out.
Probably the most telling track is Skeletons, which references drunken light night arguments, with Ed begging Cherry to put their feud to one side until the morning.
Fans are fearing Ed Sheeran has hinted his marriage to Cherry Seaborn is over on the new deluxe version of his album Play as he admits to past ‘split’
The new album has an additional 14 songs and eight of those tracks hint at trouble in paradise in the seven-year marriage, with fans speculating they are going through a seven-year itch
He sings: ‘We know how to stick the knife in / Took a word to change the course of the night / Saw a cliff and we kept drivin’ / Here pouring gasoline onto the fire / Don’t wanna make an enemy of you.’
The song Technicolor sees Ed admit his ‘attention’s been divided.’
And Satellite shows his wish to make peace: ‘Spent the whole day in my head, just stressed out / Are we alright? / I know I say the wrong things sometimes / I’m a letdown / But we gave sometimes / And I fly too close to the sun with you now.’
In Crashing, he sings: ‘So here we are again / Side by side, a thousand miles away / Lost for words to say / Why are the hearts we love the ones we break? / We split, we stall, we fail, we fall / We snap and then mend / I know it seems we’re foldin’ in / But let’s not pretend.’
In Rapture, he croons about his wish to make amends as he says: ‘I’d give anything for us.’
He writes: ‘No one at this bar knows we’ve been goin’ through some things / Fall out tonight, then work it out tomorrow / Even when we heal, it stings / Is this just a phase? Well, I hope so.’
And in Spiral, he talks about his own anxiety when it comes to his relationship.
‘I’ve been up losin’ sleep, overthinkin’ everythin’ / Are you reaching’ for me? Am I just not listenin’? / Oh, I just can’t help but spiral.’
The song Problems depicts the strain his three-year Mathematics World Tour put on his family life.
‘Flowers in our garden are dying / When did the water run dry? Who can tell? But you want the truth, we’re not fine / We got problems, and we don’t know how to solve them.’
There’s also War Game, in which the music artist writes, ‘Every day we feel deflated / Tryna roll with all the changes / Reality of what we’ve created.
‘There’s no one above or below you, you are all I want / But I feel that it’s not enough, to just offer you my love.’
Other telling lyrics continue, ‘Inches from movin’ out and movin’ on / either in love or we’re insane.’
Fatherhood comes up in Regrets, with Ed expressing disappointment over spending time away from his daughters.
‘You’re too young to understand that Daddy’s coming home / Every time I leave the house, you think I’m forever gone / Guess it’s from the hundred calls, goodnights on the telephone / See this tour, I’ve gotta get it done, but why though?’
He also candidly sings, ‘Missed out on so much / I really need to make it up.’
The Daily Mail has reached out to Sheeran’s representatives for comment.
Ed and Cherry grew up together in the same town in Suffolk, England.
They began dating in 2015 and quietly tied the knot in a small ceremony in late 2018, but it wasn’t until July 2019 that the pop star confirmed the marriage.
In Crashing, he sings: ‘So here we are again… Why are the hearts we love the ones we break? / We split, we stall, we fail, we fall
Two years ago, Ed’s song Punchline from Autumn Variations focused on an imploding romance, with lyrics reading: ‘I can’t help but be destructive right now. It’s been weeks since I saw your outline’ (Ed and Cherry pictured in 2018)
Ed wrote, ‘Play super deluxe out now. It was so hard to choose the songs for this album, it was such a vast creative experience, but going to India brought it all together.’
The note continued, ‘I wanted to put on the songs that had been created outside of India too.
‘There’s 14 songs that aren’t on the main album, which is kind of an album in itself, so I hope you have fun digging into them.
‘They’re different themes, genres, collaborators, but all within the Play sphere. When I make albums I deep dive into as much as I can and whittle down, but sometimes you love some songs so much they have to see the light of day.’
The entertainer added, ‘This is what this deluxe is. 2025 is coming to an end now, it was the year of Play for me. Next year we start the Loop tour and I’ll be finishing whatever is next.
‘Thank you so much for all the love this year its been incredible. Go check out the super deluxe now on all platforms x.’
Two years ago, Ed’s song Punchline from Autumn Variations focused on an imploding romance, with lyrics reading: ‘I can’t help but be destructive right now. It’s been weeks since I saw your outline.
‘In my room is a silence so loud. This is what losing hope might sound like.’
During the emotional chorus, it continued: ‘I can’t help it but I love you so. I can’t take this letting go. I still feel like we could work it out or something.
‘All I am is only flesh and bone. Why’s your heart so freezing cold?’
In another track, Ed detailed their ‘bumpy road’, and stressed in the song that it is ‘not the end of our lives’.
He sings: ‘This is not the end of our lives, this is just a bump in the ride. I know that it’ll be alright.’
In the song The Day I Was Born, he sings: ‘I broke apart from my lover a couple months ago, if they were here then I guess I wouldn’t be alone.’
However, the album is unclear which songs have been written from Ed’s personal experiences as he has previously spoken about the album being about both his and his friend’s lives.
Ed and Cherry first met at the age of 11 while attending Thomas Mills High School in rural Suffolk.
Cherry, in the year below him, stood out for her natural ability at hockey and Ed for his obvious musical talent.
While the pair parted ways after high school they reconnected in New York City in 2015 and started dating shortly after.
The key to their relationship’s success seems to be their humble Suffolk roots.
Cherry grew up in a charming period property in a village outside Framlingham with her mother Ann, father Matthew, an architect, and younger brother Charlie, who is in the same business as his brother-in-law-to-be, writing film and theatre music.
Meanwhile, Ed lived with mum and dad, Imogen and John, and brother Matthew, in Framlingham, but dropped out of school at 16 to seek his fortune as a singer. At the outset he busked and slept rough under an arch near Buckingham Palace.
Two years after they started dating, Ed proposed to Cherry in 2017.
He broke the happy news to his then 19 million followers on Instagram with a sweet, again low-key photo of them embracing.
He wrote: ‘Got myself a fiancé just before new year. We are very happy and in love, and our cats (Dorito and Calippo) are chuffed as well.’
The following year the couple tied the knot in a low-key ceremony a few days before Christmas.
A source said: It was very quiet – just Ed’s oldest school pals, limited family and the priest.
‘There were only 40 people – so no Taylor Swift, record company executives or any royals or pop star pals. He wanted no fuss and he wanted it to be something entirely for them – just a tiny winter wedding.
‘Neither of them were that fussed about making a big deal about it. Cherry just wanted to get it out of the way without any problems or intrusions.’
