Someone who loves what I do but has their own journey.’ FLYING THE FEMINIST FLAG ‘Someone who is kind but intelligent and rational. Someone who constantly makes me laugh,’ she says. She’s now confident about the type of person who’d make her ideal life partner. ‘They’ve all made me strong.’Įllie has also had relationships with Radio 1 presenter Greg James, War Horse actor Jeremy Irvine and electronic music artist Skrillex, and has been linked to singer Ed Sheeran and One Direction’s Niall Horan. ‘To change anything now is unthinkable, even the horrifyingly embarrassing moments,’ she says. In fact, Ellie insists she wouldn’t erase anything from her past. While Ellie recently described the broken romance as an ‘unfinished story’, Dougie admitted he still loved her – but has since been linked to model Kara Rose Marshall, who previously dated One Direction’s Harry Styles. But after the pair spent time together at the Coachella music festival, where Ellie was performing, a reconciliation seemed possible. Six months ago, she split from McFly bassist Dougie Poynter, 28, after two years of dating. We wonder if Ellie is working on this now. ‘Especially anxiety from being in the spotlight and my schedule – going from having no money and playing open mic nights to having to miss funerals and weddings and births… Mostly with anxiety, time is a healer – as is living in the present, not dwelling on the past or the future.’ AN UNFINISHED ROMANCE ‘I know too much about the world and myself to not get anxious occasionally, but I’ve learned to deal with it,’ says Ellie. She’s since received cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). DEALING WITH ANXIETYĮllie has spoken openly in the past about battling anxiety and panic attacks, which peaked while she was recording her second album and featured frightening episodes of lying with a pillow over her face en route to the studio. ‘At the moment, I’m most comfortable in hotel rooms because I’m always on the road,’ she admits. But there’s no longer a ‘family home as such’ nor ‘any family left in my home town’.Įllie now classes herself as ‘a London girl’, but despite owning a home in central London (‘my art is there, my cats and my family photos’) she feels displaced. ‘I’m used to cold English weather where I grew up in Hereford.’Įllie spent her childhood in council houses near the Welsh borders and shared bedrooms with her three siblings after her dad left when she was five. I also feel the urge to exercise but I’m lazing by the pool in a bikini that’s too small for me,’ laughs Ellie, referring to the beautiful Beach Riot two-piece she’s sporting. ‘I try to stay in bed as long as possible on show days. Tonight, she starts the third leg of her US tour, so she should be in her room on voice rest, but Florida sunshine plays havoc with the rules. It’s 11am and we’re poolside at Ellie’s hotel in Tampa. ‘I feel tired… but that’s the norm!’ she says. She’s sold 11 million albums and 31 million singles, wowed guests at Will and Kate’s wedding in 2011, and toured the world three times over. Two more albums followed: Halcyon, another chart topper then last year’s Delirium, featuring the single Love Me Like You Do, which earned her a Grammy nomination. 1 topped the BBC’s Sound Of 2010 poll and won the Critics’ Choice Award at the Brits. A year later, she released her debut album Lights, which went to No. Elena Jane ‘Ellie’ Goulding hasn’t had a decent rest since signing to Polydor Records in 2009. ‘I look forward to spending time with my family,’ she says. My schedule is honestly busier than anyone’s I know,’ explains Ellie, 29, before sharing plans to take a ‘gap year’ in the next few months.
In the last few days, she’s returned from Radio 1’s Big Weekend in Exeter, rubbed shoulders with Tom Hardy at a polo event in Berkshire, squeezed in a few killer workouts (handily detailed on Instagram) and jetted to Florida where she finally has a moment to take a breath with Balance. Pinning down Ellie Goulding is something of a challenge.