Grammy winner Ed Sheeran reveals that he had “no balance” in his life during the early years of his career, prioritizing his music over personal happiness.
“I think in the first decade of my career I was intensely unhappy as I had no balance, I was just work, work, work. And yes, everything was hyper-successful, but it was hyper-successful because I had no personal life at all,” Sheeran shared.
Work dominated his life, but now he emphasizes the importance of personal connections. “Finding that balance with getting married, having a family, living around my friends… Being able to spend time with my friends and family — that has now become 70 percent of my life, and work is like 30 percent. Before, it was 100 percent and zero anything else,” he explained.
Sheeran believes that true success lies in leading a balanced life. “The balance of getting to exist as a human being rather than just a pop star machine — that would be my measure of success.”
With daughters Lyra, five, and three-year-old Jupiter, he now prioritizes family above all. “The stage I am at in my career is that I am really happy and settled. I am really happy with who I am as an artist, the music I am creating, and the shows I am doing. Honestly, the biggest thing for me is being able to balance being a dad and being a husband, and to feel like I am achieving both things to a good level.”
Reflecting on his earlier years, the “Perfect” hitmaker acknowledges that he worked too hard. “To be that successful in my 20s you have to give everything of yourself all day, every day, and there’s a time limit to that, sanity-wise. I see it now, and when I hang out with new artists who are in the zone it just compounds the feeling for me of being, ‘That ain’t me anymore.’”
He adds, “You know, work 16 hours a day and just be in it. You have to do that at some point in life, but at some point you have to just take your foot off the gas a little bit, especially when you have children.”