Ellie Goulding's life – Prince Harry fling rumours, tension with mum and A-list wedding

Ellie Goulding has had an outstanding career to date, with highlights including singing at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding reception, two BRIT award wins and a Grammy nomination.

It hasn’t all been easy though, and the mum-of-one has been very open about her struggles with her mental health and her strained relationship with her mother Tracey.

Ellie, born Elena Jane Goulding in Hereford, turns 35 today (December 30), and has so far released four albums.

Three of them – Lights, Halcyon and Brightest Blue – reached No1, and she’s had three No1 singles too – Burn, Love Me Like You Do and her cover version of Joni Mitchell song River.

Here, to celebrate her birthday, Daily Star takes a look at her life.

Relationship with mum

Ellie has been very open about her difficult relationship with her mum Tracey in the past.

She said previously that her mum had become “quite threatening” when she spoke about her publicly before, describing it as a “disaster”.

And in 2020, she told The Independent: “I haven’t seen my mother since my wedding last year. I’ve done a lot of therapy about it because what I thought was fixable isn’t fixable.”

She had previously told the Daily Mail that she could “only sing when mum wasn’t there”.

Last year, after Ellie’s comments, Tracey said it was “very, very upsetting”.

Tracey said: “I don’t know what she is talking about,” adding: “I have not got a threatening bone in my body.”

She said: “I put a brave face on and I am smiling now but quite frankly I am deeply hurt.”

Ellie did see Tracey at her wedding to Caspar Jopling in 2019, and despite her comments it appears things began to mend when Ellie was pregnant.

Earlier in 2021, Tracey told the Daily Mail: “All I want to say is that I am obviously very, very happy and excited. It’ll be my third grandchild. Everything’s great, it’s fine.

“There was nothing really to resolve. I have seen her since the wedding but not much since the lockdowns.

“But she’s been very good, we’ve all been very good. I can’t wait to see my new grandchild.”

Famous boyfriends

While Ellie is now happily married, she has had a number of high profile relationships in the past.

Her first notable romance was with Radio 1 presenter Greg James, whom she dated between 2010 and 2012 after the release of her debut album Lights. Their break-up was reportedly “amicable”.

Next, she had a nine-month relationship with dubstep DJ Skrillex, real name Sonny.

Ellie said she “didn’t see it coming at all” but they got together after working together, but split due to long distance.

The blonde beauty moved on with War Horse actor Jeremy Irvine, even attending red carpet events together, however they broke up in August 2013.

Her most-remembered relationship was with McFly star Dougie, with the couple being on-and-off between 2014 and 2016 before they eventually ended it for good.

She described the split as “hard”, but went on: “Dougie is one of the most special people in the world and I’m so happy for him. He’s doing well in LA and he’s still one of my best friends. I know he feels the same.”

Ellie has also been linked to Calvin Harris – though she denied this and said she was matchmaker between him and Taylor Swift, Ed Sheeran, Niall Horan and even Prince Harry.

One Direction star Niall had previously admitted to having a crush on Ellie, and their alleged time together may have been around the same time she was linked to Ed.

It even spawned Ed’s song Don’t, as he was upset by the fling.

And when it comes to Prince Harry, they were reportedly seen getting close at the Audi Polo Challenge in 2014, but no romance was ever confirmed.

Royal link

Prince Harry isn’t Ellie’s only link to royalty, though.

She was famously invited to perform at Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding reception in 2011.

Ellie told the News of the World: “It was an amazing honour to be asked by Kate and William to perform at their party. The atmosphere was incredible and it is a night I will never forget.”

It is believed she performed around 14 of her biggest hits, including her cover of Elton John’s Your Song for their first dance.

Ellie is close friends with Princess Eugenie, and attended her wedding in 2018.

It is reported that Ellie actually met her own husband Caspar through Eugenie.

And her mother Sarah Ferguson attended their wedding in August 2019.

Family life

Ellie is all settled with her art dealer husband Caspar Jopling, 29.

They were introduced by a mutual friend in 2016, reportedly Princess Eugenie, and Ellie admitted “it wasn’t a love at first sight thing at all”.

She said they “didn’t fancy each other at all” but were sat next to each other at dinner.

However months later they went Instagram official, and the rest is history.

Caspar did a degree in Art History at Harvard, and went on to study for an MBA at Oxford University.

The couple tied the knot in 2019 at York Minster.

Sadly, due to their work, they spent a lot of time living apart as Ellie was in London while Caspar was studying in Oxford.

She admitted she “loved it”, telling The Mirror: “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.”

Ellie and Caspar then welcomed their first child together on April 29, 2021 and shared his name as Arthur Ever Winter Jopling.

A-list wedding

Ellie and Caspar tied the knot at York Minster on August 31, 2019 in front of a crowd of loving fans, as well as their own families, loved ones and friends.

Among them were a number of famous faces, who watched Ellie walk down the aisle in her elegant high-neck white gown.

Katy Perry and Orlanda Bloom were among them, with Katy opting for a colourful dress and pastel coat.

Sienna Miller looked stunning in a boho-chic brown dress, attending with her boyfriend Lucas Zwirner.

Princess Beatrice was dazzling in a glittering green dress, while her sister Princess Eugenie went for a floral route, and their mother Sarah Ferguson wore black.

Prince Harry’s ex Cressida Bonas wore a red floral fascinator.

James Blunt was there with his wife Sofia Wellesley, while comedian Jimmy Carr was also a guest.

Artist Tracy Emin looked effortlessly cool as she paired trainers with an all-black ensemble.

Mental health struggles

Ellie has spoken openly about her struggles with her mental health.

She said that during her 20s, she suffered from “debilitating” panic attacks and was addicted to exercise.

Ellie wrote in her book Fitter. Calmer. Stronger: “I remember experiencing one on an early photoshoot. It happened again shortly afterwards, when I was about to take part in a live TV show.

“I did the show. I was acting the part of the pop star, but inside none of it felt real or deserved.

“To this day, I have never watched that show back. I’m scared I will spot the terror in my eyes.”

One got so bad she said it felt like a heart attack, but she tried to gain control over her life with exercise.

However this led to her eating poorly, eating “rubbish” with the thought she “could just burn off the calories”.

She got help by undergoing cognitive behavioural therapy, which changed her view on exercise, which became a “sanctuary” rather than a way to avoid her feelings.

Tattoos

Ellie has a number of tattoos, with many of them delicate and intricate.

She has a small red triangle on her wrist, an arrow in white ink on her finger, Tibetan writing on her wrist, a lotus flower design on her side, a skull on her knuckle, a geometric galaxy design on her side and a letter J, which she revealed in an interview with 99.

Ellie worked with famous tattoo artist Dr Woo for some of her body art.

Ed Sheeran snub

While Ellie and Ed were romantically linked, it’s believed there may have been a bit of a fall-out between them and that his song Don’t is about her.

The song, released in 2014, includes the lyrics: “I never saw him as a threat, ’til you disappeared with him to have sex,’ and: “You were looking for a lover to Burn,” which is a reference to her No1 single.

Ed’s song came about after Ellie and Niall Horan had a fling, and he admitted as much after its release.

He said: “I got over the anger the moment I wrote the song.”

Then when Ellie released her song On My Mind, fans believed the lyrics were a dig at Ed, as she sang: “Next thing that I know, I’m in a hotel with you/ You were talking deep like it was mad love to you/ You wanted my heart, but I just liked your tattoos.”

She denied it, describing it as a “myth”, but did say: “People can read into it however they want. It’s fun to do that, I would do that too.”

Ellie later spoke about the song, telling The Guardian in 2020 that it added to a reputation that she was promiscuous.

“I think on top of not having a dad, I needed protection. And so that protection came in the form of men, of partners,” she said.

She went on to say her love life became more interesting to people than her career, adding: “It was out of control; I didn’t feel I could just come out and say: ‘Well, you don’t take me seriously enough.’ It just spiralled.”

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk