Who Is Ed Sheeran's Wife? All About Cherry Seaborn

Stephen Pond/Getty Ed Sheeran and Cherry Seaborn

Ed Sheeran and his wife Cherry Seaborn have one of the sweetest love stories in Hollywood.

The notoriously private couple likes to keep their relationship as low-key as possible, but they have shared some details over the years about how their romance blossomed. Sheeran and Seaborn have known each other since they were kids, and started dating not long after reuniting in New York City in 2015.

In January 2018, Sheeran and Seaborn secretly got married during an intimate ceremony with only 40 guests. During an appearance on the Table Manners with Jessie Ware podcast, Sheeran called it a "tiny, tiny event," saying, "We did it at night on a random day in the middle of January in the middle of nowhere. No one knew, no one came to it. We lit candles, we got married, we went back [and] had a curry."

Nearly two years later, in August 2020, the couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Lyra Antarctica. In an Instagram photo announcing the happy news, Sheeran wrote, "We are completely in love with her."

In May 2022, Sheeran announced that he and Seaborn had welcomed their second child on Instagram. "Want to let you all know we've had another beautiful baby girl. We are both so in love with her, and over the moon to be a family of 4 x," the musician wrote alongside a sweet photo of a pair of white baby socks on top of a brown blanket.

In October, Sheeran made an appearance on Good Morning America where he shared that while he and Seaborn aren't getting a ton of sleep at the moment, life with two kids is "great" and they're "in the trenches" with raising their young daughters.

Despite her high-profile relationship, Seaborn is a private person who doesn't have public social media accounts and tends to stay out of the spotlight. Still, here's everything we know about her and her relationship with Sheeran.

Ed Sheeran/Instagram Ed Sheeran/Instagram

She grew up with Sheeran

Sheeran and Seaborn have known each other for a very long time: they first met at Thomas Mills High in Suffolk, England and were friends for a while.

Their relationship was never romantic in high school, though. During an interview on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, Sheeran said that if they had dated back then, "it would have been a disaster."

The friends lost touch when Sheeran went on tour and Seaborn headed to Duke University in North Carolina. In 2015, however, the pair reconnected in N.Y.C. after a mutual friend invited them both out.

"One day, she was in New York and she went to go out with Cherry because Cherry worked on Wall Street," Sheeran shared on the podcast of his friend and touring buddy Lauren. "And then she was like, 'Oh Cherry Seaborn is in town, do you want to hang out?' I was like, 'Yes.' "

He went on to say that he had been nervous about seeing Seaborn again, since the last time they were together, they had "hooked up." "So in my head, I was like what if she remembers that because it was like a while ago. It was very innocent. Very gentle, it was a kiss."

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She moved to America to pursue her master's degree

After graduating from Durham University in the United Kingdom, Seaborn headed to Duke University in North Carolina in 2013. During an interview with Duke's The Chronicle, she shared that living in America was always part of her plan. "Ever since I was in high school I've always wanted to … study in the United States," Seaborn told the publication.

After receiving her master's degree at Duke, Seaborn headed to New York, where she worked on Wall Street for the accounting firm Deloitte. In 2016, she moved back to the U.K. to work for the firm's London office.

She was a field hockey star

Seaborn was something of a field hockey superstar when she was in college. She started playing collegiately while at Durham University in the U.K., where she led her squad to the British University championship in 2012 and 2013.

She continued playing field hockey at Duke University while also studying at the business school.

Seaborn still tries to make time to play field hockey today. In 2021, photographers spotted Sheeran watching Seaborn play with her team in Suffolk.

Ed Sheeran/Instagram Ed Sheeran/Instagram

She's friends with Taylor Swift 

After reuniting in New York in 2015, Sheeran and Seaborn had one of their first official dates at Taylor Swift's Rhode Island mansion. The two met up there during one of Swift's legendary Fourth of July parties.

Sheeran told PEOPLE in 2017, "I went on tour again, and then I went to Taylor's Fourth of July party. I was texting [Seaborn], and she was like, 'I'm in Rhode Island at a 4th of July party,' and I was like, 'So am I.' I kinda said to Taylor, 'Can I invite one of my old schoolmates?' The rest is history."

A year later, the couple celebrated their one-year anniversary at another one of Swift's bashes. Sheeran and Seaborn were spotted kissing on the lips in the background of a photo taken by Swift's friend Abigail Anderson.

In a since-deleted Instagram post, Anderson wrote, "When there's literally so much love around your only option is to make a room for all of your love banners and sing love songs to each other. @taylorswift we LOVE you! Kudos to @teddysphotos for the photobomb of the year."

The "Shape of You" singer also told PEOPLE that Swift and Seaborn have since developed a friendship of their own. "[She] and Taylor have hung out without me quite a few times; I think they have gal chats," he said. "I don't know what they get up to, talking about cats or whatever."

She is Sheeran's musical muse

Sheeran released his album ÷ (Divide) in March 2017, which included the ballad "Perfect." The singer later revealed that he wrote the song after attending a party at James Blunt's house with Seaborn.

"We got really hammered and took our shoes off and danced on his lawn and then jumped in the pool," he told Radio.com. "And then the next day I was like, 'That's a cool story,' so I put it in a song."

Sheeran's verse in Swift's "End Game" also seems to have been inspired by Seaborn. In the song, he sings, "Knew it when I was young / We connected when we were a little bit older" and "Something was born on the Fourth of July."

He also mentions her in the song "Remember the Name" on No. 6 Collaborations Project. In the song, he raps, "Watch how the lyrics in this song might get twisted / My wife wears red but looks better without the lipstick." In an interview with Charlamagne Tha God, he explained,  "It was actually before me and Cherry got married, and I knew that we'd be married by the point that the song came out."

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She influenced Sheeran's break from music 

Seaborn moved back to the U.K. in 2016 to be closer to Sheeran, and not long after, Sheeran took a short break from making music.

During an interview with Beats 1/Apple Music's Zane Lowe, the singer said, "We were basically like, 'Let's both quit our jobs and let's have a year of forming a tight bond and relationship. So we went traveling and spent every day for a year together."

Sheeran also spoke to PEOPLE exclusively about his break from music ahead of his Apple Music documentary Songwriter. "I ended the tour and I [realized] I hadn't ever really lived a life," he shared. "I haven't properly formed relationships with people so I needed to have a year off and spend it with friends and family and Cherry and actually become a human being."

During that time off, Seaborn and Sheeran traveled together to places like Fiji, Italy and Australia. "She hadn't really done anything either, so it was an opportunity for both of us to get to know each other and live life a little bit," the singer told PEOPLE of the couple's travels.

She cares about the environment 

Today, Seaborn still works in the finance department at Deloitte. According to her LinkedIn profile, she currently works with the World Climate team for the company with "a focus on bringing people and organizations together to accelerate impactful solutions to combat climate change."

Her profile describes her as "an entrepreneur with a genuine concern for the health of the planet," and states that she graduated from the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership with a Postgraduate Certificate in Sustainable Business.

During a podcast interview, Sheeran described Seaborn as being "at the top of her field" in her career.

Ed Sheeran/Instagram

Their first daughter's name has a special meaning 

Sheeran has previously opened up about the meaning behind the name of his and Seaborn's first daughter, Lyra Antarctica.

During an appearance on the British morning show Lorraine, Sheeran said that the couple wanted to give her a unique name, explaining, "I realize some people think it's quite a strange name. But my wife's called Cherry, and she is the only Cherry that I've ever met and I think that she's the only Cherry that she's ever met and I quite like that."

He went on to say that her middle name, Antarctica, was inspired by a trip the couple took before Seaborn became pregnant. "When tour finished, I've basically toured every single continent but I've never been to Antarctica so that was always on our list," he said. "So we went down there in 2019 and it was just incredible. The most amazing place on earth."

She still makes time to support Sheeran's career

In addition to being a mom who works in a competitive field and plays field hockey recreationally, Seaborn also manages to make time to support Sheeran in his career.

Back in 2019, she starred alongside her husband in the music video for his single "Put It All on Me" featuring Ella Mai. In the video, the two were captured dancing in the kitchen of their London apartment alongside captions like, "Back in high school, Ed & Cherry were crushing hard. They made out at the castle on the hill." It was the first time the couple appeared in a music video together.

In a 2021 interview with Entertainment Tonight Canada, Sheeran revealed that Seaborn had picked "Bad Habits" to be the first single on his album =, and shared that when it comes to his music, his wife has a very "business-minded head."

"She hasn't been wrong," he said. "There's one song she told me to cut from the album and now the album makes more sense."

She had a tumor while pregnant with her second child

When announcing his new album, Subtract, Sheeran shared a series of events that changed his life in 2022, one of which involved his wife.

"My pregnant wife got told she had a tumour, with no route to treatment until after the birth," he said in a press release.