Ed Sheeran calls friendship with Taylor Swift a 'kind of therapy'

MANILA, Philippines — Award-winning artist Ed Sheeran has a really tight friendship with fellow singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, so much so that they often end up talking for hours when they can.

Ed sat down for an interview with Apple Music to talk about his latest album "- (Subtract)" where he touched upon his decade-old friendship with Taylor, dating back to their 2012 collaboration for the latter's song "Everything Has Changed."

"I have long, long, long conversations with Taylor about stuff just because I feel like she's one of the only people that actually truly understands where I'm at," Ed said, even saying he recently had an 80-minute conversation about "everything that was on our minds."

The British singer went as far as calling their friendship a "kind of therapy" by "actually talking to someone that genuinely gets it."

"That has all the things that you feel and have insecurities about and how other people treat you or how your family treat you, how your friends treat you. She’s basically in the same sphere," Ed also said.

Ed discussed with Apple Music how Taylor suggested he work with music producer and The National's Aaron Dessner, who she worked with on her albums "folklore" and "evermore."

Related: Ed Sheeran wins US copyright trial

At first, Ed didn't want to collaborate with Aaron as he felt it was something Taylor had worked on herself, but Taylor insisted otherwise.

"She said, 'I think it'd be really important for you as an artist to do what I did and work with Aaron because this is what it did for me'," Ed shared. "So that sort of opened the door to it, and I am incredibly grateful. I'm making some of the most meaningful music to me that I've made in a very long time."

After "Everything Has Changed," Ed and Taylor collaborated again for the latter's 2017 song "End Game," and then in 2022 on Ed's "The Joker and the Queen" which brought back the same child actors from the 2013 "Everything Has Changed" music video.

That same year, Taylor released a re-recorded version of her album "Red," including one of "Everything Has Changed" plus the vault song "Run" again featuring Ed.

Apart from the release of "-," Ed recently won a copyright infringement case in relation to his hit track "Thinking Out Loud" supposedly stealing key components from the late Marvin Gaye's 1970s song "Let’s Get It On."

Taylor, meanwhile, announced that her next re-recorded album will be of "Speak Now" coming out this July.

RELATED: Taylor Swift announces 'Speak Now (Taylor's Version)' arriving in July

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