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Ed Sheeran is revealing how he’s found the “perfect balance” between his family life and his career.
The singer, 34, will appear on a Thursday, Oct. 9 episode of Mythical Kitchen’s Last Meals. In a clip shared exclusively with PEOPLE ahead of the premiere, Sheeran speaks with host Josh Scherer about whether his two daughters — Lyra, 5, and Jupiter, 3 — and wife Cherry Seaborn will join him on his upcoming tour.
“My girls have been on tour with me since [the] start of Mathematics,” says Sheeran of his 2022 tour. “I feel like my life only works when we’re together.”
Scherer then goes on to ask Sheeran if he feels an obligation to keep touring.
“I don’t think any of it is obligation. I really enjoy my career. I love touring, I love songwriting. Touring has gotten to a point now, because of where my career’s at, that it can fit around my family and I can dictate what I do,” explains the dad of two.
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“So if I’m like, ‘I only want to play Saturdays.’ That’s what I do. If I want to play Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I can do that as well. But if that feels like too much, then I’ll just say, ‘I just want to play Saturdays,’ ” continues Sheeran.
“And I think being at a stage in my career where my family life takes precedent and I can do all that as well — it’s kind of the perfect balance.”
This past July, Sheeran appeared on Kylie Kelce’s podcast Not Gonna Lie and was asked by the mom of four if there are any songs of his that his two daughters particularly love.
“I think the kids are a good read on things as well. Even old catalog stuff, because when I’m away doing shows, Cherry will play my…I have brought out a compilation record in September, which has all the hits of Mathematics on it,” Sheeran explained.
“And when I’m away, she’ll play my songs to them to kind of introduce the music to them slowly,” he continued. “And it’s interesting, the ones that they gravitate towards. And it’s definitely the ones that all kids have gravitated towards, I guess.”
When Kylie asked if there’s one song his daughters “lock” in on, Sheeran was quick to respond.
“‘Sapphire.’ And ‘Sapphire’ from the beginning, like, they came to India when I made that record and they were in the studio whilst we were putting all the tablas and santoors,” the dad of two said. “They were watching all of that happen.”
“And I think because it’s just…I don’t know. They know most of the lyrics to that song now,” Sheeran added.
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Back in April, Sheeran appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast and talked with host Alex Cooper about his kids’ names. When discussing women taking their husbands’ last names in marriage, Sheeran revealed that while it’s a practice he grew up with, his perception shifted when he married his wife.
“That’s how I grew up, though, because that’s the only thing that I knew. My mom had my dad’s name, and, you know, I come from a very large Irish Catholic family. Sheeran was the name,” he told Cooper. “I think it wasn’t until getting married and having daughters where your perception — it shifts.”
“You can’t just be born and just believe things. You have to kind of experience and be brought over,” he continued. “Now, I very, very much believe that that should be the case — that you should obviously keep both identities when you have children.”
