Ed Sheeran is "very, very private" about his children

Ed - who has daughters Lyra, four, and Jupiter, two, with his wife Cherry Seaborn - said on The Louis Theroux Podcast: "I'm very, very private about my children's image ... I can't take them to zoos or parks or anything really without someone trying to film them.

"There are times where the normal parts of life I kind of mourn for and wish I could push my kid on a swing in a public park and it not be weird, you know?"

Ed pointed out that his kids "have not signed up" to the pitfalls of fame and success.

The Perfect hitmaker explained: "People go, well that's the trade-off. But my kids have not signed up to that."

Despite his best efforts, Ed admits that it's impossible to shield his children from fame all of the time.

The award-wining star prefers to take commercial flights because of environmental concerns, but he conceded that it can lead to problems.

Ed said: "We're flying back on Ryanair from a gig in Italy last year but all of my fans who'd been at the gig were flying back!

"I like the environment, I like trees. I'd find it hard to justify. No one's perfect. When we're doing intense promo trips, there will be the odd time [taking a private jet]."

Ed believes his music career peaked with his Divide album back in 2017. But he's actually feels much happier now.

He explained: "I kind of feel I had my peak with Divide and I'm kind of coasting now. I don't know if I'll ever get back up there again but [when I had] that level of fame, that was my unhappiest [time].

"I'm much happier with the balance I've got now."

Ed previously admitted that fame has left him feeling like a "zoo animal" at times.

He told The Sun newspaper: "You feel like a zoo animal. I don't mean to complain, I have a cool job and life. But I just want to avoid that."