Ed Sheeran says his conversations with Taylor Swift felt like therapy sessions

Ed Sheeran says his conversations with Taylor Swift have felt like "therapy" sessions.

The Shape of You singer, 32, has been a friend and collaborator of the 33-year-old songwriter for years, and said amid his copyright case - and following personal traumas including the death of his best friend Jamal Edwards and wife Cherry Seaborn's cancer fight - they have "long" chats as she understands his life.

Ed told Zane Lowe in an interview for Apple Music 1 about their jobs being one of the reasons behind the strong bond: "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.

"She's a solo artist, she's at stadiums."

"I had an hour, 20 (minute) conversation with her yesterday and we were just… everything that was on our minds we talked about.

"I mean that in itself is kind of therapy as well, because you're actually talking to someone that genuinely gets it."

Ed was cleared in his $132 million (S$175 million) copyright case on Thursday (May 5) in a Manhattan court room of the allegation his Thinking out Loud song ripped off Marvin Gaye's Let's Get it On.

And last February he was left devastated when his music producer Jamal Edwards, who gave him his first big breaks, died aged 31 after a cardiac arrest brought on by cocaine and alcohol - the same month his wife Cherry, 30, was fighting cancer.

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He also told Zane about how his new record 'Subtract', released on Friday (May 5) being his most "uncomfortable" yet as it addresses the resulting grief and depression he fought: "'I sent this record to the record label, and they were like, 'Is it a breakup album?' And it's not.

"It's an album about grief and depression and stuff.

"I feel that I don't want to give too much context and hammer it home, because I don't want people listening to 'Eyes Closed' and be like, 'This is about Ed's friend that died.'

"I want people to listen to it and relate it to their own life."

Ed's wife Cherry was diagnosed with a tumour six months into her pregnancy with their second child, Jupiter, who turns one this month.

Jamal died the day after Cherry was told her tumour was not as severe as doctors had first feared, and that she would not need to have her baby early to allow doctors to operate.