I love living by myself
She’s one of the biggest names in music and friends with all the Royals.
Now Ellie Goulding might also have cracked the secret to a happy marriage – living apart. The singer, 33, spent lockdown in Oxfordshire with art dealer husband Caspar Jopling, 28. But she’s moved back to London while he finishes his MBA. And she’s not exactly hating being apart. “No I love it!” Ellie laughs. “I love my husband – but I also love myself. I can read a book. I can go for a run, I can eat messily. So it’s really great that you can have a partner that you don’t have to be with 24/7 – even when you’re married.” And it’s not as if the pair, who met through mutual friend Prince Beatrice, aren’t romantic – especially Caspar.
“He built me a cover for my cat litter tray,” smiles Ellie. “And he always buys me flowers. I was driving down the motorway in my electric car and I found a little rose in the glovebox.”
Ellie’s about to release Brightest Blue, her first new album in five years, and “the best album she’s ever made” on Friday.
It includes track Power, the video for which sees her strutting about in lingerie.
“If I can’t celebrate my sexuality at 33, when can I?” she says.
It seems her battles with anxiety have taken a back seat.
She might not have made plans for her August 31 wedding anniversary yet (“Do people celebrate one year?”) but she’s definitely in a very good place – and I don’t just mean her own house. “It’s been a great year,” she smiles.
“Everything feels in harmony.”