Ed Sheeran Promises To Never Take Drugs As It Would Be 'Disrespectful' To His Late Pal's Memory

After losing his close friend Jamal Edwards, singer Ed Sheeran has vowed not to indulge in drugs again. Edwards died at the age of 31 last year due to a cardiac arrest brought on by his addiction to drugs and alcohol.

Sheeran believes indulging in drugs again will be "disrespectful" to the memory of his friend and recently paid him a musical tribute. The singer plans to release a new album on May 5, inspired by the challenges he faced last year.

Keep on reading to learn more.

In a sit-down with Rolling Stone, Sheeran revealed that he is steering clear of indulging in drugs again in the wake of the death of his friend Edwards in February 2022.

He explained that taking such substances would be "disrespectful" to his late pal'spal's memory, who had died after a cardiac arrest spurred by cocaine and alcohol consumption.

"I would never, ever, ever touch anything again because that's how Jamal died. And that's just disrespectful to his memory to even, like, go near," Sheeran said about his friend, who supported him while he was trying to find a footing in the music industry, per Daily Mail.

Sheeran has since announced an upcoming single, "Eyes Closed," which is dedicated to his friend. Earlier this year, he paid tribute to him with a touching freestyle filmed at his favorite club stadium, Stamford Bridge, Chelsea FC.

In his Rolling Stone interview, Sheeran credited his wife, Cherry, as the reason why he gave up alcohol and drug consumption in the first place.

He shared that he had always indulged in alcohol but only started taking a "few" substances at the age of 24. While he only dabbled at first, it became a habit, and he sometimes took drugs heavily without booze.

Describing those moments as "bad vibes," Sheeran said that realizing he may not be there for his wife, who was pregnant with their first child Lyra, 2, was the wakeup call he needed to "grow up."

He told the publication, "Two months before Lyra was born, Cherry said, 'If my waters break, do you really want someone else to drive me to the hospital?'"

"Because I was just drinking a lot. And that's when it clicked. I was like, 'No, actually, I really don't.' And I don't ever want to be p***ed holding my kid. Ever, ever."

Sheeran and Cherry have since welcomed a second daughter, Jupiter. The singer announced the news of the birth on Instagram last year May in a cute post.

He wrote at the time, "Want to let you all know we've had another beautiful baby girl. We are both so in love with her, and over the moon to be a family of 4."

After dating for years, the Sheeran and his wife tied the knot in 2019, then welcomed their first daughter, Lyra, in 2020.

Cherry is known to be the inspiration behind some of the singer's songs, such as "Shape of You" and "Perfect."

"I constantly wake up every day with Cherry, and I'm just like, 'Why the f*ck are you with me? You could literally be with whoever you wanted, and you've chosen me," Sheeran said during a 2019 interview with Charlamagne Tha God, per Hollywood Life.

"And I'm saying all of the things that I think are wrong with me, but you still want to be with me. And I just find that amazing."

The award-winning artist has plans to release his upcoming album "–" (pronounced as Subtract) on May 5. In an Instagram post on March 1, Sheeran shared that he had been working on the project for a decade as he wanted to make sure that the final work was a "perfect acoustic album."

However, due to the challenges he faced in 2022 – the death of Edwards, his wife's tumor diagnosis, and the copyright lawsuit over his song "Shape Of You" – he completely reworked the album to reflect his "deepest, darkest thoughts."

He added, "As an artist, I didn't feel like I could credibly put a body of work into the world that didn't accurately represent where I am and how I need to express myself at this point in my life. This album is purely that. It's opening the trapdoor into my soul. For the first time, I'm not trying to craft an album people will like, I'm merely putting something out that's honest and true to where I am in my adult life."