Ed Sheeran says ‘No Strings’ was inspired by his wife’s tumour

British pop star Ed Sheeran has revealed that “No Strings” a song on his fifth studio album ‘Subtract’ was inspired by his wife’s sickness. Cherry Seaborn, the wife of the singer was diagnosed with a tumour in 2019 while she was pregnant with their second child, Jupiter.

According to the “Shape of You” hitmaker, things his father told him about marriage and the real experience of watching his wife in that state inspired his work on the album.

“My dad said to me when I got married, ‘You will not know what real love and marriage is until there’s death and real sickness’. He said that because that happened when he first married my mum. There was real, real grief that happened in the family and real, real sickness that ended up in grief that they had to go through,” he revealed.

After almost four years, Cherry Seaborn is recovering from her sickness but that episode in the life of the couple has left something deeper between them.

Adding, “He said that it really brought them together and once that happens it is an unbreakable bond. I have been married now [for] almost five years and I have always felt real, real closeness. But last year was when that unbreakable bond was made. I know you should feel that before with marriage and children, but I really feel like ‘if we can get through 2022, we can get through anything’,” he said as quoted by MN.

Spark, one of the songs on the album debuted at the album launch at the Eventim Appollo in London. And at the event, Ed Sheeran told the crowd that the song explores the topic of moving on from trauma.

“You know in movies when people have break-ups and they put everything into the fire and go, ‘It’s a new dawn’? I feel like that’s a healthy thing sometimes, to move on and be like, ‘That was then and this is now’. The lyrics in this chorus are ‘We’ll build a fire, we’ll torch our old life and hope that the original spark of what made it amazing survives and we’ll just move on from it.'”

Subtract will be released on May 5, 2023.