Ed Sheeran is undeniably one of the world's most romantic crooners, with several brides and grooms picking his music for their first dance on their wedding day. The 27-year-old first stormed into the limelight in 2011, when he released his independent EP, No. 5 Collaborations Project, which gained mainstream attention for reaching No.2 in the iTunes chart. He then eventually hit No.1 on the iTunes chart before he signed his record label with Atlantic. Since then, Ed has sold millions of records and has won numerous accolades for his hits such as The A Team, Thinking Out Loud and Shape of You. But how much is he really worth? According to the latest rich list by the Sunday Times, the singer is the second richest musician under 30 in the UK and Ireland. His net worth has grown by £28million in the past year, making his total estimated wealth at the moment an impressive £80million.
Ed Sheeran is one of the most beloved pop stars in the world
Ed, full name Edward Christopher Sheeran, was born in February 1991 in Halifax, West Yorkshire and was raised in Framlingham, Suffolk. The star started singing at an early age, he joined a local church choir from the age of four before he started learning how to play the guitar during his time at Rishworth School. He then began writing songs during his time at Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham before moving to the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford at the age of 18 in 2009. Ed officially started to record music in 2004, before he independently released his first collection of work, Spinning Man. Once the song-writer moved to London in 2008, he began playing small gigs across the city.
When was Ed Sheeran's big break?
Breaking through to the mainstream in 2011 with his debut album, +, which spent three weeks at No.1 in the UK, the Suffolk native quickly made a name for himself as one of the hottest up-and-coming UK talents of that year. He won his first Ivor Novello Award in 2011 for his breakthrough single The A Team, which also went onto become that year's biggest-selling debut single. In 2014, Ed's second album, X, became the UK's fastest-selling album of the year. The album was named one of the Official Chart Company's biggest-selling albums of all time, having amassed over 3.4billion streams.
In 2016, Ed took a break to work on his third studio album, ÷. In January 2017, he released two singles from the album, Shape of You and Castle on the Hill, which debuted at No.1 and No.6, respectively, on the Billboard Hot 100. Despite being out of the spotlight for a year, his name was still associated with some of 2016's biggest hits. As one of the world's most in-demand songwriters, Ed penned Cold Water for Major Lazer and Love Yourself for Justin Bieber.
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In 2015, Ed took to the stage of Wembley Stadium, becoming the first-ever artist to headline the prestigious venue without a band. He played to 240,000 people over three consecutive sold-out nights. Just three years prior, Ed performed at the London Olympics' closing ceremony alongside members of Pink Floyd and Genesis for a very special version of Wish You Were Here. But more famously, his biggest performance to date was perhaps in 2017 when he headlined one of the nights on the Pyramid Stage. Speaking before his set, Ed admitted he felt "out of place" as an act at the festival. He told the BBC: "I'm definitely the one that’s out of place on that list. But I think that's an exciting thing."
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Who is Ed Sheeran in a relationship with?
Music aside, in January 2018, Ed announced that he popped the question to his long-time partner Cherry Seaborn. He revealed that he proposed to his old school friend, whom he has been with since 2015, on New Year's Eve. In a sweet Instagram post, Ed wrote: "Got myself a fiancé just before new year. We are very happy and in love, and our cats are chuffed as well xx." A month later, Ed was forced to deny that he secretly married his long-term partner after he was spotted wearing what appeared to be a wedding band.
Ed Sheeran popped the question to girlfriend Cherry Seaborn in January
However, in August, dropped a major hint that he married Cherry in secret. During an interview with showbiz site Access, the 27-year-old was asked: "What about the wedding details? Have you picked a date? Do you know where? Do you know when yet?" To which, Ed seemingly confirmed the happy news. Without directly replying, the songwriter sheepishly pointed at his rumoured wedding ring. The interviewer then assumed the answer was a yes, and continued: "That's exciting! Congratulations my friend! Congratulations! How did you sneak that one?" Giggling, a bemused Ed responded with: "Well, I never do anything too public anyway." During a previous chat with BBC Radio 2, Ed had nothing but lovely things to say about his blossoming romance with Cherry. "I'm actually the happiest I've been," he said. "I'm really secure now, we live together and we have cats, and I think when you have cats that's kind of it."
READ: Has Ed Sheeran secretly married Cherry Seaborn?
In the past, Ed has been romantically linked to the likes of Taylor Swift and Ellie Goulding. When Ellie claimed that they were just friends, Ed hit back and said on US radio show Clock 98.9: "I mean, normal people don't hold hands if they're just friends." It's believed that Ed's 2014 hit song, Don't, was about Ellie getting involved with One Direction's Niall Horan. Although this has yet to be confirmed, Ed previously told The Sun: "I got over the anger the moment I wrote the song. It’s a song that came at the time that I needed to write. That's the end of it."