Pregnant Ellie Goulding shows off her baby bump in underwear and ‘mother’ T-shirt for new NYLON cover shoot – and says the biggest fan of her ‘divorce album’ is her ex-husband Caspar Jopling

It’s only January, but 2026 is fast turning into a special year for Ellie Goulding.

Goulding, who is a member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her services to biodiversity and climate, will give birth to her second child (her first with boyfriend Beau Minniear) in May.

There’s also the small matter of his sixth studio album, which is currently untitled and has no official release date, but is completely masterful and backed by a very prominent theme.

Speaking about the latest issue NYLONGoulding confirmed that the new feature was heavily influenced by her short-lived marriage to art dealer Caspar Jopling, the father of her eldest child, four-year-old son Arthur.

‘It was always our goal to start this album,’ he said. ‘I didn’t know it was going to be a divorce album, but it started to progress that way.’

Goulding exchanged vows with Baron Jopling, the Harvard-educated grandson of Conservative MP Michael Jopling, in 2019 with Jopling, who was in York Minster Grade I, in 2019.

Goulding confirmed that her new album was heavily influenced by her short-lived marriage to art dealer Caspar Jopling, the father of her eldest child, four-year-old son Arthur.

Motherhood is front and center in her new cover shoot for NYLON, in collaboration with New York photographer César Buitrago

The singer gave birth to their only child in 2021, three years before she and Joling confirmed their marriage was over; It’s a difficult part, but it ultimately gave him the creative spark he needed to write his new music.

‘When I married my ex-husband, I thought it would last a lifetime. “This will never go away,” he said. ‘There are some songs that were necessary for me to accept and respect that period of my life.

‘There were also some songs that were extremely reactionary and sad, which I thought were good to do at the time but didn’t work for me in the long run.’

The breakdown of his marriage had already become a creative problem before he entered the studio; Goulding had to tell the producer about the breakup the day he was introduced to her.

She recalled: ‘I knew my marriage wasn’t working, these were dark times… The day I met Jack was the day I said: “Jack, I have to be frank with you. Today my husband and I decided to separate.”

But despite the unpolished nature of the lyrics and their clear personal resonance, Goulding says Jopling remains fully supportive of the project, at least for now.

‘My company, my friends, everyone is behind this,’ he said. ‘And even my ex-husband loves the songs… well, he hasn’t heard all the songs.’

With the album expected to be released publicly before the birth, Goulding insists she is more than capable of managing her career while also coping with the inevitable demands that come with a new baby.

The singer shows off her noticeable baby bump in a black bra and revealing leather jacket in a photo from her new cover shoot

Goulding, whose new album is expected to be publicly released before the birth, insists she’s been able to manage her career while coping with the demands of having a baby

‘It’s great to be able to raise a child and I feel very lucky to be healthy, but it’s not all I have right now,’ she said

Goulding is due to give birth to her second child in May, but insists that despite her pregnancy she ‘still works every day and still writes every day’.

You can read the full interview in the latest issue of NYLON.

‘First of all, I didn’t want to be a pregnant woman,’ she said.

‘Not every woman has this luxury. There are amazing people around me. I have a wonderful boyfriend. My job is a little easier because I have incredible support. I still work every day and I still write every day.

‘I’m just growing a human inside me. Maybe I’m not the most Earth Mother about it, you know what I mean?

‘It’s a great thing to be able to raise a child and I feel very lucky to be healthy; But that’s not all I have right now.’

Regardless, Motherhood appears front and center in her new cover shoot, a collaboration with New York photographer César Buitrago.

In one particularly striking image, the singer models a pair of tight black underwear while covering her baby bump with a T-shirt emblazoned with the one-world ‘Mama’.

In the second, she reveals her torso in a black bralette and cropped leather jacket, while the third captures Goulding in her layered cream-colored blouse, her baby bump visible as she stares at the reader.

The singer says she remains fully supportive of her ex-husband’s new ‘divorce’ album, but admits she hasn’t listened to every song yet

‘My company, my friends, everyone is behind this,’ he said. ‘And even my ex-husband loves the songs… well, he hasn’t heard all the songs.’

Goulding with her current boyfriend Beau Minniear. The couple will welcome their first child together, Goulding’s second, later this year.

But if it plays a role, it’s not intentional; Goulding is adamant that her new music represents a significant departure from the artist she once was.

‘I’m grateful that my company was very cooperative with me in not wanting to play that character anymore,’ he said. ‘People don’t want fakes. They don’t want characters. They don’t want someone who is unoriginal.’

He added: ‘[The new music] For me, it was about going back to the basics, to the instruments, which is a very primitive thing, but AI music is on the rise… I took that back to the guitar, which is where I first started.

‘When I wrote my first song when I was 15, it awakened something innocent and pure within me.’

The full interview can be read in the latest issue of NYLON, out now.