Rumors of Ed Sheeran building a “crypt” behind his home are untrue — kind of.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a crypt,” Sheeran, 32, told GQ in an interview published on Wednesday, October 4, clarifying that he actually constructed a chapel on his property to properly mourn the people he’s lost who have been cremated.
Sheeran — who also uses the sanctuary to host wedding ceremonies for his friends — noted that in addition to the chapel itself, he decided to craft his own final resting place so his children could come and remember him after his death.
“It’s a hole that’s dug in the ground with a bit of stone over it, so whenever the day comes and I pass away, I get to go in there,” he explained. “People think it’s really weird and really morbid, but I’ve had friends die without wills, and no one knows what to do.”
Sheeran has experienced extensive loss over the past several years. In 2021, his mentor, Michael Gudinski, died at age 68. The Grammy winner paid tribute to Gudinski at his memorial service in Australia at the time, singing “Visiting Hours,” an intensely emotional song he wrote in honor of his friend. The following year, in February 2021, Sheeran’s best friend, Jamal Edwards, died at age 31. Weeks later, Sheeran lost close pal and cricketer Shane Wane.
Though Sheeran has been candid about his grief through his music, he keeps most of his private light out of the spotlight.
Sheeran lives at his Framlingham, U.K. estate —‚ which he reportedly purchased for $5 million — with wife Cherry Seaborn and their two daughters, Lyra, 3, and Jupiter, 17 months.
He and Seaborn, 31, announced their engagement in January 2018 before secretly tying to knot the following year. Sheeran confirmed their nuptials on his 2019 song “Remember the Name,” featuring Eminem and 50 Cent.
“[I actually wrote it] before me and Cherry got married and I knew that we’d be married by the point that the song came out,” he told Charlemagne The God in July 2019. “[I thought] someone’s gonna hear that and be like, ‘Oh, they’re married!’ I didn’t know how that would be construed, but obviously, it’s already come out.”
Sheeran announced he was taking a break from the music world in December 2019, and the couple revealed they had welcomed their first child less than a year later in September 2020.
“We are completely in love with her. Both mum and baby are doing amazing and we are on cloud nine over here,” the Grammy winner wrote via Instagram at the time. “We hope that you can respect our privacy at this time. Lots of love and I’ll see you when it’s time to come back, Ed x.”
During an interview on the Ellen DeGeneres Show in December 2021, Sheeran opened up about pressing pause on his career in order to find more meaning in his life, telling the 65-year-old talk show host, “I just found that I really didn’t have a purpose outside of [music] because when I was giving myself fixed time of no work, I wasn’t doing anything I enjoyed because I love doing music. And [being a dad] has actually given me purpose and something in life that’s actually more important than my job.”
Five months later, daughter Jupiter quietly arrived. “Want to let you all know we’ve had another beautiful baby girl,” Sheeran captioned an Instagram snap of the newborn’s socks at the time. “We are both so in love with her, and over the moon to be a family of 4.”
Since returning to his craft, Sheeran’s two daughters have since become the first listeners of his new music including his = (Equals) and — (Subtract) albums, which were released in October 2021 and May 2023, respectively.
Sheeran’s latest project is Autumn Variations, which he released earlier this month. Sheeran told GQ on Wednesday that he comprised the record — which he released on his personal label — of 14 songs based on 14 loved ones that would evoke the abrupt shift from summer to fall in England.
“I don’t want people mistaking what it is. I don’t want people thinking this is my next pop blockbuster and I’m gonna tour this in the stadiums and stuff. It very much is an album about autumn that I wanted to put out there,” he told the outlet. “And I know in 20 years’ time it’s gonna be a fan favorite, but at the moment nobody really knows what it is.”
