Ed Sheeran Details 'Uncomfortable' Past with His Eating Disorder: 'I'm a Real Binge Eater'

"I know people are going to see it a type of way, but it's good to be honest about them," the singer told Rolling Stone about struggling with body image and an eating disorder

Ed Sheeran. Photo: Liz Collins

Ed Sheeran is detailing his past struggles with body image and eating disorders.

In his cover story for Rolling Stone, the 32-year-old got candid about how he often compared himself to other male singers early in his music career, causing him to think he was "so fat."

"I'm self-conscious anyway, but you get into an industry where you're getting compared to every other pop star," he told the outlet. "I was in the One Direction wave, and I'm like, 'Well, why don't I have a six pack?' And I was like, 'Oh, because you love kebabs and drink beer.' Then you do songs with Justin Bieber and Shawn Mendes. All these people have fantastic figures. And I was always like, 'Well, why am I so … fat?' "

Sheeran explained that the situation escalated and resulted in him developing an eating disorder, admitting that he related to Elton John, who shared in his memoir, Me, that he struggled with bulimia for six years.

"So I found myself doing what Elton talks about in his book — gorging, and then it would come up again," the singer continued.

Ed Sheeran. Liz Collins

"There's certain things that, as a man talking about them, I feel mad uncomfortable," he added. "I know people are going to see it a type of way, but it's good to be honest about them. Because so many people do the same thing and hide it as well."

Sheeran admitted that he has "a real eating problem," but today, he focuses that energy into fitness. "I'm a real binge eater. I'm a binge-everything. But I'm now more of a binge exerciser," he said.

Ed Sheeran. Liz Collins

Back in October, the four-time Grammy winner explained during an appearance on SiriusXM's The Morning Mash Up that eating his favorite comfort foods is great for his mental health, as long as he maintains his exercise.

"If you're eating food that you really wanna eat, but then also exercising and looking the way that you kind of wanna look. I feel like that's a good, good balance," Sheeran said. "So I eat, I love fast food. I love curry. I love drinking nice wine. I love all the things that would be bad for you if you didn't exercise. But I feel like I'd go crazy if it was just no carbohydrates the whole time."

The singer then agreed with host Nicole Ryan who said, "the reason I work out is so I can eat and drink whatever I want."

"And that's a really healthy way of being," he added. "It's all about balance. Like you can have a filthy burger once a week if you want, and you can have ice cream every day if you wanna have it, it's just about balance."