The Real Inspiration Behind Ed Sheeran's Perfect

Ed Sheeran's "Perfect" debuted in 2017 and quickly became a chart-topping hit. The sweet ballad had passionate lyrics like "When I saw you in that dress, looking so beautiful/ I don't deserve this, darling, you look perfect tonight," making it a popular love song that was even dubbed the "perfect" first dance song for newlyweds by The Knot. 

With many fans agreeing that "Perfect" is one of the most romantic songs in their playlists, Sheeran seems to have accomplished his goal of writing "the best love song" of his career, which he told Ryan Seacrest in 2017 he set out to do when penning the piece. When Sheeran wrote the song, he was not married, but his emotionally raw lyrics were a telltale sign that he was feeling a certain type of way for someone special. By the end of the year, it was pretty obvious who "Perfect" was about. So, who inspired the sweet lyrics behind Sheeran's adorable song?

Ed Sheeran must have seen "All the Stars" align when he wrote "Perfect," because shortly after, he got engaged to the woman who inspired the meaningful lyrics. That's right, "Perfect" is about Sheeran's now wife, Cherry Seaborn.

"'Perfect' was the first song that I wrote for the album. It was inspired by Cherry," he told Us Weekly in March 2017. "The line that goes, 'Barefoot on the grass, listening to our favorite song' was about when we were in Ibiza listening to Future's 'March Madness', literally not wearing any shoes and going mental on the lawn, which was quite a nice time," he recalled. 

Sheeran and Seaborn originally met as teens at Thomas Mills High School in Suffolk, England, per US Weekly. The two reunited through a mutual friend in 2015 and they have been together since. The "Shape of You" singer asked Seaborn to be his wife at the end of 2017 and revealed they had officially tied the knot in an interview with iHeartRadio's Charlamagne Tha God in July 2019. They welcomed a baby girl in September 2020 named Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran. "We are completely in love with her. Both mum and baby are doing amazing and we are on cloud nine over here," he said in his announcement. Sheeran's love story is truly "Perfect."