For Ed Sheeran, global chart success starts at home — and his wife, Cherry Seaborn, is the first and most important critic.
Speaking on a recent episode of Kylie Kelce’s Not Gonna Lie podcast, Sheeran opened up about the delicate timing required when sharing new music with Cherry. “I 100 percent have a window of opportunity,” he admitted. “Cherry can kill a song. She can. I’m really careful to only play her songs when she’s in a good mood. Because if she’s like, ‘Eh,’ then in my mind, that song’s dead.”
Sheeran, who married Seaborn in 2018 after reconnecting years after their childhood in Sheffield, says her instincts are rarely wrong. “She has very good taste and a great read on things,” he added. Considering that Sheeran can write up to three songs a day, five days a week, having someone to filter the best of the bunch is invaluable. “I’ll come home and play them, and she can sift through that pretty easily.”
But Cherry isn’t the only family member weighing in on Sheeran’s music. Their daughters, Lyra (4) and Jupiter (2), are starting to show preferences of their own. When Sheeran is away, Cherry plays his songs for the kids — and their reactions are surprisingly in tune with popular tastes. “It’s interesting which songs they gravitate towards,” Sheeran said. “And it’s definitely the ones that all kids seem to love.”
Even as Sheeran openly acknowledges the possibility of his music’s popularity declining, it’s clear that his biggest hits still need to pass the toughest test first — the approval of his family.
