Ed Sheeran feels ‘really embarrassed’ about past drug use, vows to avoid it after best friend Jamal Edwards’ death
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Following the death of his best friend, singer Ed Sheeran has pledged never to do drugs again. In a poignant interview, Sheeran, 32, claimed that it would be "disrespectful" to music magnate Jamal Edwards, who sadly died last year at the age of 31 from cocaine abuse. In an emotional interview, the singer claimed he has struggled with depression "throughout [his] life" and that last year saw a recurrence of the afflictions.
Superstar Sheeran admitted to doing drugs twice a day, but after the tragedy of his best friend's death, he has now sworn to quit permanently. Sheeran revealed in a Rolling Stone interview that he had struggled with binge eating and suicidal thoughts. After his friend Edwards died in 2022 and Sheeran's wife was detected with a tumor, the singer claimed he "didn’t want to live any more."
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How did Jamal Edwards die?
Jamal Edwards died on February 20, 2022. Edwards was an entrepreneur, writer, filmmaker, DJ, and the brains behind the internet music service SBTV. After a late-night session of cocaine and alcohol, the 31-year-old died of heart arrest, as per The Sun. According to the reports, Edwards was discovered after collapsing with three tiny snap packets that contained trace amounts of white substance. Ivor Collett, an assistant coroner for West London, determined that Edwards died from a cardiac arrest caused by cocaine use and alcohol consumption.
'I didn’t want to live anymore'
After Edwards tragically died from a cardiac arrhythmia, Sheeran spent an entire week with Brenda, a panelist on 'Loose Women', who eventually warned people not to take drugs. It also happened at the same time that Sheeran's wife of four years, Cherry acquired a tumor diagnosis, which made the singer feel suicidal. "I felt like I didn’t want to live anymore," Sheeran admitted in the interview with Rolling Stone.
"And I have had that throughout my life . . . You’re under the waves drowning. You’re just sort of in this thing. And you can’t get out of it," the 'Perfect' singer continued. Yet he claims that as a father, his thoughts felt "selfish." "I feel really embarrassed about it," Sheeran added.
Sheeran revealed earlier this month how Cherry's tumor was found while she was six months pregnant with their first daughter, Jupiter. He has now disclosed that she delivered the child safely and had a successful surgery in June. Sheeran, who has been traveling on his Mathematics World Tour since last April, stated that even though the battle is still ongoing, going to therapy has made him feel better about himself.
Ed Sheeran’s history of substance abuse
The 'Shape of You' singer revealed his drug addiction in public for the first time, outlining how he began doing drugs in his mid-20s and progressively got addicted. Per The Sun, Sheeran stated: "I was always a drinker. I didn’t touch any sort of like, drug, until I was 24. I remember just being at a festival and being like, ‘Well, if all of my friends do it, it can’t be that bad.’ And then sort of dabbling. And then it just turns into a habit that you do once a week and then once a day and then, like, twice a day and then, like, without booze. It just became bad vibes."
In 2017, he claimed that his wife Cherry Seaborn, 30, had supported him in overcoming his drug addiction. He has, however, vowed never to tell what he had taken since he does not want their young children Lyra, 2, and Jupiter, 10, to learn. Sheeran claimed that he also gave up alcohol before the birth of his first daughter in 2021.