Ellie Goulding explains she did not set out to make a divorce album

Ellie Goulding has admitted she did not anticipate that her next release would turn into what she describes as a “divorce album”.

The 39 year old singer’s upcoming project explores the end of her marriage to former husband Caspar Jopling, and she has reflected on how major shifts in her personal life ended up shaping the music in unexpected ways.

Speaking with Nylon magazine, Ellie explained: “It had always been the goal to start this album. I didn't know it was going to be a divorce album, but that's the way it started heading.

“When I married my ex husband, I thought it was for life. That will never go away and that will always stay with me. There are some songs that are necessary for me to acknowledge that time in my life and to be respectful of it.

“Then there were some songs that were extremely reactionary and sad that I felt were good to do in the moment but don't serve me long term.”

Ellie is now expecting a child with her new partner Beau Minniear, and says her evolving emotional state can be heard across the record, which is due out in the early part of this year.

The Love Me Like You Do singer, who also shares four year old son Arthur with Jopling, said: “It's so funny that the process over the years is so indicative of how I was feeling at the time. The songs have gone from so dark and angry, to cynical, to funny, to coming out the other side, to meeting a new guy and being excited.”

Goulding also spoke about stripping things back creatively for the album.

She said: “It was taking it back to basics for me, going back to instruments which is so rudimental, but AI music is on the rise, working from your laptop is on the rise.

“I took it back to the guitar, which is where I first started. It aroused something in me that was innocent and pure from when I was 15, writing my first song.”

The Burn hitmaker has previously been open about her own mental health challenges, and said she supports Lola Young’s choice to step back from live performances after collapsing on stage at the All Things Go Music Festival in New York City last September.

Ellie said: “Nothing can equip you for that rise to fame. I feel like Lola's doing the right thing. She's clearly got good people around her. She'll come back. She's extremely talented. She's a great writer.

“It's not like, ‘Oh, she can't handle the fame’. It's just a recalibration. This is what the experience is like. I needed a break from it, and now I'm going to come back more ready for it.”