Editor’s Note: Sheeran revealed in an interview with Charlamagne Tha God on Friday (July 12) that he and Seaborn are married; British media reported that the small wedding took place before Christmas 2018 in front of a small group of friends and family.
On Saturday (Jan. 20) singer Ed Sheeran surprised fans and announced his engagement to his longtime love, Cherry Seaborn.
The “Perfect” singer posted a sweet snap of the two where he shared that they had just become engaged before the new year began, including that they are “happy and in love” and that their cats are “chuffed as well.”
?Sheeran and Seaborn, who are rumored to have been dating since 2015, have managed to keep their relationship relatively under wraps. Seaborn rarely appears in Sheeran’s social media posts, and she keeps her own personal accounts set to private. But it’s no secret that Sheeran is head over heels for his now fiancée, especially thanks to his Billboard Hot 100-topping love song “Perfect,” which was inspired by Seaborn herself.
So who exactly is Cherry Seaborn? Here are five things you need to know about the future Mrs. Sheeran:
1. She and Sheeran met in high school.
She and Sheeran met one another at Thomas Mills High in Suffolk, England, where they both attended high school together. They parted ways then as Sheeran dropped out of school to pursue his music career, while Seaborn earned a degree in molecular biology. She now works as a senior consultant in risk advisory at accounting firm Deloitte, according to DailyMail.com.
2. She’s a hockey star.
Seaborn is an incredible hockey player who, according to her biography on the Duke University website, led her team to a runner-up finish in the Investec English Woman’s Hockey League for two consecutive seasons. She was also selected to play for England’s Under 18 national team, where she earned both Bronze and Silver medals.
3. She and Ed are rumored to have been dating since 2015.
She was first rumored to be dating Sheeran back in 2015 when the two were seen together at a Mets game in September of 2015. The pair was also spotted in Vegas that same year partying with Calvin Harris.
4. She was the reason behind Sheeran’s break from music.
After releasing the critically acclaimed album x (aka Multiply) in 2014, Sheeran decided to take a year off of social media and touring in 2016 to focus more on his personal life and relationship with Seaborn. He told Beats 1’s Zane Lowe that “the catalyst of taking a year off was also the fact that my partner quit her job in New York, which she’s now got back in London, which is really cool. But we were just basically like, ‘Let’s quit our jobs and have a year of forming a tight bond.’ So we went traveling and spent every day for a year together.”
5. She and Sheeran live together.
It’s unclear exactly when the couple moved in together, but Sheeran told BBC Radio 2 last February that they were roommates. “I’m really secure now, we live together and we have cats,” he said, “and I think when you have cats that’s kind of it.”
6. Ed got her stamp of approval on “Perfect” before putting it on his album ÷.
When talking to US Weekly last year, Sheeran revealed how Cherry inspired “Perfect,” which was the first song he wrote for ÷. “The line that goes, ‘Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song’ was about when we were in Ibiza listening to Future’s ‘March Madness’ literally not wearing any shoes and going mental on the lawn, which was quite a nice time,” he told the outlet. “I didn’t see her first reaction to the song because she lived in New York at the time. So I just emailed it to her, but she did really like it.”
7. Ed’s always known Cherry was “the one.”
Sheeran was never shy about discussing his relationship while promoting ÷ or “Perfect,” but in one particular interview, he got quite personal about his status. “I actually always thought I’d end up dating like an actress or something, someone in the industry,” he told Radio.com. “But I don’t think I’m that kind of person. I’m a hometown boy.”
And when asked if he thought Cherry was indeed the girl he’d marry, Sheeran gushed, “Undoubtedly, undoubtedly. But I think if you ever enter into a long-term relationship and you have a doubt, then you shouldn’t be in the long-term relationship.”