In case you haven't heard, Ed Sheeran is back. It's been quite some time since we last heard some new music from the ginger-haired British singer, and fans can't be happier to have him back again. Ed has taken quite a long hiatus from music, with his last release being Divide back in 2017, and then an album of collaborations in 2019 before taking time away from music.
Since his last release, Ed had been very busy, even though we might not have seen most of it. Of course, he was working on new music that we should be hearing very soon, but he's also taken some personal time, where he got married and started a family. A lot has happened between now and the Divide era, and we can't wait to see what happens next.
10 Released A Collaboration Album
After the release of his album Divide in 2017, Ed Sheeran decided to release an album of collaborations with other musicians in 2019 called No. 6 Collaborations Project. He released "I Don't Care" with Justin Bieber, "Cross Me" with Chance the Rapper, and "South of the Border" with Cardi B and Camilla Cabello, to name a few. The EP was the last thing that Ed released before he went on his long hiatus away from social media, and the music world. It was the final project that Ed left with his fans before he took some much-needed time off.
9 Announced Hiatus
After working non-stop, constantly touring and releasing music, Ed Sheeran made the announcement that he would be taking a brief hiatus from everything. Ed made the big announcement on his Instagram through a written statement, letting fans know that he needed to take some time away to take a breather, travel, write and read and that he would be off all of his social media until it was time for him to come back. This wasn't the first time that he took a hiatus, as he also took one between the release of Multiply and Divide. He promised fans that when he was back, he would also have some new music.
8 Got Married
During his music hiatus, Ed Sheeran made some huge changes in his own life and has hit some major personal milestones. In 2019, Ed got married. Ed is known for writing some of the most heartfelt and beautiful love songs but kept his own love life very quiet when it came to the public. Fans were surprised to find out that Ed and his childhood sweetheart Cherry Seaborn got married in a secret wedding.
The wedding took place in 2019, just a few days before Christmas and it was kept very hush-hush. It took place at one of Ed's homes located in Suffolk, and the two kept the guest list very small as there weren't even any celebs in attendance. There were only 40 people at the actual wedding, just the couple's close friends and family.
7 Had A Baby
As if getting married wasn't enough of a personal milestone, Ed Sheeran and his wife Cherry welcomed their first child. Even though Ed was still on his social media hiatus, he hopped back on Instagram to make the big announcement. He posted a picture of a baby blanket with two tiny little socks, announcing to the world that he and Cherry welcomed a daughter together. Although we've never seen the baby, nor do we know much about her as Ed and Cherry have kept everything about her very private, we do know that her name is Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran and that she's happy and healthy.
6 Released A Limited Edition Ketchup
If there's anything that you should know about Ed Sheeran, it's the fact that he is absolutely obsessed with ketchup. That's right, Ed is obsessed with the condiment. He loves ketchup so much that he even has it tattooed on him, as many fans know. When the ketchup brand Heinz approached Ed and wanted to know if he wanted to work with them, there was no way that he could say no to that.
Ed and Heinz created a limited edition ketchup bottle that was covered in his tattoos. One of the bottles was auctioned off for $1,823.47, and there are only 150 bottles in circulation. Each one of the bottles features the design with his tattoos, and they're all autographed by him too. All of the money that was raised was donated to East Anglia's Children's Hospices as selected by Ed.
5 Opened A Restaurant
Even though Ed Sheeran wasn't making music or touring, he had to keep himself busy somehow, and as a result, he opened a restaurant. The restaurant s located in London and is named Bertie Blossoms. Ed co-owns the restaurant along with his manager Stuart Camp. When the Coronavirus hit and the world went into lockdown, Ed refused to furlough his staff at the restaurant, nor did he want to apply for government assistance. As a result, he paid their paychecks out of his own pocket and made things work. Like many other restaurants, Bertie Blossoms got creative and began delivering food to customers and offered specials to help keep the place in business.
4 Collaborated With Eminem
During Ed Sheeran's musical hiatus, fans didn't expect him to release any type of music at all. To their surprise, however, he released a collaboration with Eminem. Over the years, Eminem has collaborated with a number of different artists, and Ed has done the same, so it only made sense that they eventually worked together. In 2020, Eminem dropped a surprise album, Music to Be Murdered, and featured a track with Ed on it called "Those Kinda Nights." After not hearing from Ed for so long while he was on hiatus, fans were excited to hear him on Eminem's album.
3 Released 'Afterglow'
In late 2020 Ed Sheeran gave fans another surprise when he dropped a surprise track. Ed called the track a bit of a Christmas present as he dropped it just a few days before Christmas. He explained to fans that they shouldn't get too excited as "Afterglow" wasn't the first single off of a new album, instead just something special that he wrote and wanted to release as a thank you and happy holidays. Ed dropped the track and went back to his social media hiatus, leaving his fans in a bit of a frenzy.
2 Teased A New Album
After releasing that track, Ed Sheeran began teasing a new album. On February 17, 2021, Ed turned 30 years old and shared a photo of himself as a kid dressed as a pirate. In the caption, he mentioned that he would be back from his hiatus later in the year with the fourth installment of the series. So far, Ed has released three albums under the same theme — Plus, Multiply, and Divide. Saying that he would be back with the fourth installment lead fans to believe that he would be completing the trend by releasing an album titled Subtract. As of right now we still don't have any new album news, but there's definitely speculation as to what's to come.
1 Released 'Bad Habits'
Fans have gotten more excited since the release of Ed's new single, "Bad Habits." Since Ed's post on his birthday, fans have been itching to find out when new music would be coming out, especially a new album. Recently, Ed made his big return to social media with the announcement of a new single, "Bad Habits" along with the music video for the track. We're more than sure that album plans are what's next for the singer, and we're so excited to hear what he's been up to since he's been on hiatus for all of these months.