"I felt like I was drowning": Ed Sheeran breaks down
Ed Sheeran has spared no emotion in a new docuseries covering a very turbulent time in his life.
In the first trailer for Ed Sheeran: The Sum Of It All, the singer can be heard laughing about how when he was first approached about the documentary, he assumed it would cover his time in the studio working on his new album.
To Sheeran’s surprise, the four-part Disney+ series is set to capture the hardships in the British star’s life as his wife, Cherry Seaborn, battled with a tumour while pregnant with the pair’s second child and just as he lost one of his closest friends, Jamal Edwards.
The clip includes a montage of moments featuring an emotional Sheeran, 32, breaking down on stage and in private as he deals with the turmoiltuous time he’s been faced with.
"I've never seen him cry on stage," his wife admitted in a clip.
"He hasn't had time to process and be at peace with his thoughts."
Sheeran, who is the father to daughters, Lyra, 2, and Jupiter, 10 months, is also heard saying how his wife changed his life.
"Everything in my life sort of got so much better when Cherry came into it," he says.
Sheeran first opened up about these two private, painful events in a social media post, revealing how they influenced his upcoming album, Subtract.
"At the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art," Sheeran wrote.
"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.”
Sheeran also suffered the loss of his close friend and co-worker's 16-year-old son in early 2023.
Ed Sheeran: The Sum Of It All will be released on Disney+ on May 3 2023.
Image credit: Disney+