Is Ed Sheeran’s song Don’t about Ellie Goulding and Niall Horan?

Ed Sheeran 2014 MTV VMAs

Like friend Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran is quite fond of pulling song material from real-life experiences. In the case of his new song “Don’t,” he references a girlfriend who cheated on him with a friend…

“The story in Don’t is 100% true. I could have gotten nastier – there was more s**t that I didn’t put in,” he told The Mirror this spring. “I was seeing someone for a bit, and then they ended up physically involved with one of my friends in the same hotel that we were staying in, while I was downstairs. And I feel like: ‘Treat people how you want to be treated.'”

So, who are the heartbreakers in Ed’s song? There are some strong clues in the lyrics. For one, he implied the other two in the love triangle are involved in music: “Me and her we make money the same way/Four cities, two planes the same day… But you didn’t need to take him to bed that’s all/And I never saw him as a threat/Until you disappeared with him to have sex of course…”

Speculating about the girl’s identity is pretty easy because Ed’s only confirmed relationship with a singer was with Ellie Goulding, who he was photographed holding hands with at the 2013 MTV VMAs.

Ed Sheeran - Elle Goulding

Shortly afterward, Ellie took to Twitter to say she and Ed weren’t romantic. Ed later said was a lie…

“Normal people don’t hold hands if they’re just friends,” he said in September 2013. However, he added the relationship was already kaput. “It was going on, and now it’s not.”

As for the alleged third-party in the mix, Yahoo noted just days before the 2013 VMAs — at which point Ed and Ellie were apparently dating — that the “Burn” songstress was seen kissing One Direction’s Niall Horan. He later expressed his admiration for her, telling GQ U.K. this year, “I’ll say one thing: Ellie Goulding – wow. She’s absolutely amazing looking.”

Although Ed said the situation really stung at the time, he told The Mirror he no longer has any bitterness toward the other two.

“I literally got over it within the week and the song just stuck around,” he said. “I know people hear the song and it might be fresh because it’s the first time they’ve heard it but, I think all parties involved have just moved on.”


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