Ed Sheeran was "miserable" when all his friends were famous.
The 'Bad Habits' singer admitted he left Los Angeles when he realised there wasn't anyone around him who truly "loved" him for who he is, though he still counts Taylor Swift as a pal and knows he can call on her if he's in a situation where "things [are] truly f*****".
He said: “Taylor is just someone I would definitely call if things were truly f*****.
"This isn’t just an exercise in name-dropping and sounding like a ****; I remember being out in Los Angeles, two years into my career, and all my friends were just famous people and I was so... miserable.
"I got to this realisation where I said to myself, ‘No one here actually loves me.’ They loved the idea of me, but no one actually loves me. So I left. For good.”
The 30-year-old singer previously admitted he considered quitting music after he and wife Cherry welcomed daughter Lyra into the world a year ago and he explained how he "convinced" himself he'd never sing again as he was so sure he needed to focus on parenthood.
Speaking to the new issue of Britain's GQ magazine - who honoured him with the Solo Artist of the Year accolade at the annual GQ Men Of The Year Awards in association with BOSS in London on Wednesday (01.09.21) - he said: “When my daughter was born I just said, ‘Maybe this is me now.’
"It was such a switch in my life and, wow, it was bringing me so much. Joy, of course, but obviously parts of it were really difficult too.
"I can’t really explain it, but I felt so much life was coming at me, I thought, ‘Well, this is what I’m meant to do now.’ I stopped playing the guitar, stopped writing songs and I stopped singing.
“I actually convinced myself I was never going to sing or pick up the guitar again. I was like, ‘No. This is it. I quit.’”
But Ed began to reason with himself and admitted he was "f****** miserable" during his "period of noncreation".
He explained: “I asked, what’s more important for my daughter and my family? Is it being there 110 per cent of the time and not going to London for a day, like today to talk to GQ, see collaborators, friends and master the album? Or is it having a daughter that knows her mum and dad have a great work ethic and really love their jobs?
"I saw myself as technically being unemployed during that period of noncreation and, to be honest, I was f****** miserable. I wanted Cherry to see me happy and thriving.”
Read the full interview with Ed at https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/culture/article/ed-sheeran-interview-2021
