There’s one part of Sheeran’s Suffolk estate that some people have trouble wrapping their heads around.

Call it morbid or just plain practical, but musician Ed Sheeran has already dug his own grave — quite literally.

The 32-year-old recently revealed in a bizarre conversation with GQ Hype that his estate in Suffolk already features a “chapel” where he will be buried when he dies.

Amid reports he had a macabre “crypt” on site, he has set the record straight.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a crypt,” he explained.

“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.

“People think it’s really weird and really morbid, but I’ve had friends die without wills and no one knows what to do.”

It’s not just a space for loss and grief — he’s also hosted friends’ weddings there.

Sheeran said he also wanted it to be a place where his daughters Lyra and Jupiter could go to remember him after he was gone.

If it seems strange for someone so young to be already considering their mortality, it’s worth remembering Sheeran has already lost numerous people close to him.

He said his “chapel” was initially built as a place where he could go and quietly mourn those he had lost.

 

 

Ed Sheeran. Credit: AP

His Australian mentor Michael Gudinski died in 2021, and last year he lost his best mate, Jamal Edwards.

Sheeran was also very close with cricketer Shane Warne, who died in Thailand last year.

He’s spoken openly in the past about grief and his mental health ups and downs, admitting that writing music is a form of therapy for him.

In a press release coinciding with the release of his Subtract album, he said making music helped him make sense of his feelings.

“I wrote without thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out,” he said of the Subtract songwriting process.

“And in just over a week, I replaced a decade’s worth of work with my deepest darkest thoughts.”

He then talked about some of the things he had been through, including his wife Cherry Seaborn, who was pregnant at the time, being told she had a tumour which couldn’t be treated until after she had given birth to their second daughter.

Sheeran also touched on a plagiarism lawsuit filed against one of his best-known songs, Shape Of You.

“My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter,” he wrote.

“I was spiralling through fear, depression and anxiety.

“I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air.”

Ed Sheeran and Cherry Seaborn. Credit: YouTube

However, things have been looking up for Sheeran since the release of his latest album, Autumn Variations.

He’s just been honoured with a special Brit Billion Award, becoming the first British artist to surpass 10 billion streams in the UK.

Three of his tracks are within the top 10 most-streamed songs of all time, with Shape Of You taking the second spot, Perfect at #3 and Bad Habits #9.

“I want to say a big thank you to my fans,” Sheeran said of the accolade.

“None of this is possible without you guys.”

 

Ed Sheeran performs onstage at the 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Credit: Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

Reflecting on what he thinks has attracted so many to his music over the years, he told GQ Hype: “I think everyone loves love, and everyone feels low, and I feel like those are the two subjects that I’ve written most about.”