Acclaimed singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has revealed his own burial site is in his backyard. The singer, who recently dropped his album “Autumn Variations,” told GQ that he has begun planning for the eventual end of his life. The motivation came from the death of his close friend Jamal Edwards in 2022, and the deaths of numerous other childhood friends. The singer recounted wishing to have a place to mourn them and having a set plan of the wishes of the deceased.
The burial spot is not yet a marked grave or a crypt, but a small chapel on his English countryside estate that he hosts family events and friends’ weddings at. His wishes to eventually be buried at this site were born from the happy memories he hopes to cultivate with his family there. Sheeran said “It’s a hole that’s dug in the ground with a bit of stone over it, so whenever the day comes and I pass away, I get to go in there. People think it’s really weird and really morbid, but I’ve had friends die without wills, and no one knows what to do.”
News of the grave comes amid a packed year for Sheeran. The singer-songwriter is actively making his way through a sold out stadium tour, and released two albums this year already, “-” and “Autumn Variations.” Sheeran also recently revealed that his wife Cherry Seaborn endured a frightening health scare during the creative process for “-.” Additionally, he won a lengthy court battle brought against him by the estate of Marvin Gaye’s cowriter.
The lawsuit over Sheeran’s 2014 hit song “Thinking Out Loud”, brought forth by the estate of Ed Townsend, who co-wrote Marvin Gaye’s 1973 hit “Let’s Get It On,” sued Sheeran for copyright infringement. The suit came shortly after a similar case was filed in the U.K. over another hit song of Sheeran’s, “Shape of You.” Just prior to the final ruling, the singer threatened to quit the music industry for good if he lost the American lawsuit. Luckily for Sheeran fans, the singer won.
For @edsheeran, songwriting is an extension of how he thinks about the world. The day after his wife’s cancerous tumor was diagnosed, he wrote seven songs in four hours.
“Since then I’ve been working straight.” https://t.co/gl7z2Js5fx pic.twitter.com/E8a3ZfT79J
— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) October 4, 2023
Social Media Reactions To Gravegate
Some felt it was too early for Sheeran to be arranging his final rites, as he is only 32 and a recent father of two daughters.
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am i reading this right… pic.twitter.com/PotTwKb3hf
— steven ❀ (@arianaunext) October 5, 2023
Others felt that it was responsible of him to think ahead.
I respect people that prepare for their death while still alive
— Dandonec ????????⚡⚽???????????????? (@OnwukaDaniel1) October 5, 2023
Others theorized that it could be a strategic tax write-off. Places of worship and graveyards are taxed differently from private residences, but it remains unclear if this policy extends to the U.K. as some X users theorize.
Tbh I heard once u burry ur self in ur backyard u don’t have to pay taxes or anything because it’s considered a graveyard ( rich people do it for taxe right offs) like when the kardashians started a church
— MUSIC VIBES (@MusicVibes420) October 5, 2023
Some are hoping Sheeran did not accidentally manifest his own death.
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Well that seems a little sad and creepy. Cheer up #EdSheeran pic.twitter.com/r8JqLe8Khl
— TheAIArtist -WARPED (@WantWhatYouHave) October 5, 2023
Sheeran has not elaborated further on his future burial plans at this time.
