An expression says all days work make a jerk a dull boy, this idiomatic expression as turn to Ed Sheeran as he will be missing in action for a while as the popstar has announced he’ll be taking an 18-month break after an exhausting two years on tour. The Castle On The Hill singer told fans at his last show at Chantry Park, Ipswich on Monday that he’ll be going on a lengthy hiatus to spend time with family and his wife, Cherry Seaborn, whom he married in December 2018. It’s certainly a well-deserved break as Ed, 28, has been performing on his Divide Tour since March 2017, clocking up a staggering 260 shows. Revealing his plans to the packed-out audience, the singer said: ‘As you may or may not know, I’ve been on the Divide tour for over two years now and this is the last day of the whole thing. ‘There is something very bittersweet about it. I love that you guys are here and we are ending it in Ipswich. This is my last gig for probably 18 months.’ Ed went on to describe the tour as a ‘wild one’ with shows in North and South America, New Zealand, Australia, Asia, Europe, at Glastonbury and record-breaking performances at Wembley Stadium. The Shape Of You hitmaker continued in his reflection: ‘I was told before I came on that now at the end of this tour I’ve played to nine million people around the world. It is the biggest tour ever. No doubt Cherry will be pleased to have her hubby back at home ‘It’s been an emotional day for a lot of people backstage. It kind of feels like, in a weird way, that you’re breaking up with a girlfriend that you’ve been with for years. ‘It sounds odd but it has been a long tour.’ No doubt Ed will be keen to finally spend some quality time with wife Cherry, who has reportedly remained in her accounting job while her hubby toured the world. In June, the British singer admitted he was willing to ‘sacrifice’ his lucrative career for the next 10 years if he and Cherry were to start a family.

Ed wasn’t exaggerating when he described his latest jaunt as the ‘biggest tour ever’, as it was revealed this week that the shows grossed more than $775.6 million (£695 million) from 8.9 million tickets sold around the world. The Divide Tour has now cemented its place as the highest-grossing tour of all time, beating the likes of U2, Coldplay, Guns N’ Roses, the Rolling Stones and Madonna. So it’s definitely not a bad time to call it a day.