Ed Sheeran has announced his engagement to girlfriend Cherry Seaborn.

The musician shared the news on Instagram, with a picture of the happy couple bearing the caption: "Got myself a fiancé just before new year. We are very happy and in love, and our cats are chuffed as well xx". Sheeran had only recently suggested he was ready to propose, telling The Kyle and Jackie O Show in Australia: "I'm pretty...yeah I feel pretty good about it."

The pair are believed to have first begun dating in 2015, though they both attended Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham, Sussex, together. They first became public as a couple in 2016, when friend Taylor Swift threw them a party to celebrate their one year anniversary.

They've kept their relationship relatively private since, with Seaborn returning to the UK after attending Duke University in North Carolina in 2016 so that the couple could be together.

She also provided the inspiration for two of Sheeran's biggest hits: "Shape of You" and "Perfect". A remix of the latter featuring Beyoncé managed to land the coveted Christmas number one spot on the Official Single Chart in 2017, facing off competition from X-Factor winners Rak-Su and singer Rita Ora.

Seaborn made a name for herself as an expert hockey player while attending Duke, even leading her team to back-to-back British University championships in 2012 and 2013.