‘He was very put out… she’s got form’: Taylor Swift’s shock ‘fallout’ with ‘second brother’ Ed Sheeran as insiders tell GRANT TUCKER how US star’s sneaky move has left him furious and relations ‘strained’

They are so close that Taylor Swift once called Ed Sheeran her ‘second brother’.

But the Daily Mail understands their relationship has become ‘strained’ recently after the American singer released her latest blockbuster album so close to Sheeran’s new proposal.

Sheeran, 34, was left in the dark about the release date of Swift’s The Life Of A Showgirl, which remains high on the album charts despite their close friendship.

In May, the British chart leader announced that he would release his eighth studio album, Play, on September 12.

Months later, in August, Swift announced that she would be releasing her own new collection on October 3, just a few weeks after Sheeran.

A music industry source said: ‘Ed takes these things really seriously and plans his album releases carefully. She announced her album four months in advance, but Taylor announced hers just two weeks later.

‘This left his team scrambling to get more attention before his went down. He was very upset and understandably angry.’

‘This isn’t the first time Taylor has done something like this. ‘He’s in shape.’

Originally, Sheeran’s album peaked at No. 1 the week it was released, but it has now fallen out of the top ten as Swift’s new album debuted at the top.

Last year the Shake It Off singer was criticized for ‘chart blocking’ when she released a UK-exclusive range of new albums the same week Charli xcx released her album Brat.

The two have been friends for over a decade after collaborating on her 2012 single “Everything Has Changed.”

Swift revealed that she did not tell her British ‘best friend’ about her engagement to American footballer Travis Kelce, but instead Sheeran found out about it on Instagram.

This move by Swift prevented Charli from being at the top of the album chart, thus maintaining her place at number 1 with her album The Tortured Poets Department.

It also saw Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard And Soft threaten Swift’s move to the top of the US charts. As Eilish nears the top, Swift has released three new digital album download versions and a new CD version of her album.

Each version included a new song exclusive to that version of the album; this encouraged loyal fans to buy each new version and keep Swift at the top of the charts.

Sheeran has previously talked about how he timed his album’s release. In 2017, he said: ‘Everyone around me who I was afraid of releasing an album released an album last year; People like Beyonce, The Weeknd and Bruno Mars.

‘Taylor [Swift] ‘It probably won’t be released until the end of this year – Christmas is the smartest time to release it because it’s when everyone buys records.’

The duo had been friends for over a decade after collaborating on their 2012 single Everything Has Changed, and Sheeran subsequently supported her on tour.

The two later lived in Nashville, where they cemented their friendship with Sheeran, saying, “We literally spent almost every day with him for about six months.”

A source said that they last met at Selena Gomez’s wedding in California on September 27, where they both made speeches, but the album’s release date was not discussed.

Swift revealed that she did not tell her British ‘best friend’ about her engagement to American footballer Travis Kelce, but instead Sheeran found out about it on Instagram.

She admitted she ‘forgot to call Ed’ to tell him the happy news before telling her 282 million Instagram followers.

He said: ‘This is one of my favorite people on the planet and then when the news came out I was like ‘Oh my God!’ We forgot to call Ed!’

Ed Sheeran’s representatives have been contacted for comment.