Ed Sheeran has always positioned himself as a lone wolf throughout his twelve years of fame.
On stage by himself, with only his looping pedals. In 2019, he quietly married longtime girlfriend Cherry Seaborn. In 2020 and 2022, he became a father even more quietly.
Whatever was known about the ginger Brit was conveyed through his music, whether gooey love songs or thoughtful synth-guitar pop.
The singer-songwriter not only opens the door to his personal life in his four-part Disney+ docuseries "Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All," but also walks viewers through it.
Sheeran and his wife exhibit endearing vulnerability and open-hearted honesty. Each part, which lasts around 30 minutes, focuses on a specific emotion in Sheeran's life.
"Love" has numerous appearances by Seaborn, 30, who claims she would never have consented to participate in the documentary before being diagnosed with cancer in February 2022.
"Loss" addresses Sheeran's lingering grief over the tragic death of his best friend, Jamal Edwards, who died at the age of 31 from cardiac arrest.
Recreational drug use was the cause of Edward's death. He died around the time Sheeran, 32, and Seaborn discovered her health issue.
"Focus" looks into how Sheeran buried himself during the recording of "Subtract." After the terrible events of early 2022, which included a copyright case involving "Shape of You," he rapidly wrote the songs for his new album, due out Friday.
And "Release," originally named "Balance," details Sheeran and Seaborn's struggles to find balance amid Sheeran's demanding profession and their growing parental obligations.