Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran admits he is ready to settle down with girlfriend Cherry Seaborn REUTERS/Mark Blinch

Ed Sheeran may have found the true love he often sings about. The Castle On The Hill singer has opened up about his plans to settle down and admits marriage could be on the cards with his girlfriend Cherry Seaborn.

In a candid interview with KIIS FM's Kyle And Jackie O show, Sheeran, 25, revealed just how serious his two-year relationship with Seaborn has become. The singer told the hosts: "She lived three or four miles away from me where I grew up. And we live together now, we just got cats."

When Kyle asked about the possibility of the couple starting a family in the near future, the Shape Of You singer admitted: "Yeah, potentially. I would like some kids." Sheeran was then specifically asked about marriage, to which he replied: "I'm pretty... yeah I feel pretty good about it."

Sheeran's comments come just days after a source claimed the Thinking Out Loud singer would propose to Seaborn while touring in Australia. A friend of the pop star's allegedly told NW magazine: "He's so ready to take the next step with Cherry and couldn't think of a better place to ask her to marry him in Australia."

It is not the first time Sheeran has shared his hopes of settling down – the Grammy-winner previously gushed about Seaborn in an interview with Apple Beats 1 radio host Zane Lowe, saying: "This has been the first time I've ever actually had the time to fall in love properly. I've always got into relationships very passionate – I'm a redhead and also Irish. But then I will get in a relationship and go on tour for 18 months and everything will f**k up."

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He added of children: "Massively, yeah. I wanted to be a dad, like, last year. I'm ready, let's go – tour bus babies, little fat, chubby babies that just walk around. When [my child] hits four or five and starts primary school, I'm just out. I think [Bruce] Springsteen took an extended break when his kids went to school. I think that's going to be me."

So who is Cherry Seaborn, the woman who has stolen Sheeran's heart?

  • Sheeran and Seaborn are virtually childhood sweethearts – the pair attended Thomas Mills High School in the singer's hometown of Framlingham, Suffolk. After finishing her secondary education, Seaborn continued her studies in the US but later relocated back to the UK to be closer to Sheeran.
  • Seaborn is a skilled hockey player and took part in two British university championships in 2012 and 2013.
  • In an entry on Duke University's website, Seaborn says of her decision to study abroad: "Ever since I was in high school I've always wanted to study in the United States. I looked into different schools that were good academically and also at hockey, and Duke was one that really jumped out at me. I made my decision purely based on recommendations. Duke has such a good name in England, and there were a lot of people who told me to go there. There were also some English girls [at Duke], so I talked to them too."
  • Seaborn began a career in finance, reportedly working as an advisory consultant at Deloitte and Touche LLP in New York.
  • Sheeran and Seaborn's relationship was first exposed in July 2015 when a photo of them kissing was shared on Taylor Swift's Instagram. The photo was taken at a first anniversary party Swift threw for Seaborn and Sheeran to celebrate the couple's milestone.