Is Ed Sheeran Dating Nicole Scherzinger?

ABC/Randy Holmes(LOS ANGELES) — Is Ed Sheeran “Thinkin’ Out Loud” about ex-Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger?  The British tabloid The Sun claims the two are dating.

A “friend” said of the two singers, “They were showbiz friends who saw each other on the scene. She was drawn to him over the last few months through his music. When she split from Lewis, she was heartbroken but ended up playing Ed’s songs on a loop.”

“Lewis” is race car driver Lewis Hamilton, from whom Nicole split in February after seven years.  He’s now allegedly dating Rihanna.  Ed split from his girlfriend Athina around the same time.

Another friend said Ed and Nicole are “extremely close,” adding, “Nicole says he is the male version of her.”

So where’s the evidence of the romance?  According to The Sun, Ed welcomed Nicole backstage when he played London’s Wembley Stadium; she later posted a photo on Instagram of the two of them backstage.  They were also seen three days later together at a pub in Ed’s British hometown.  And on July 27, reports the tabloid, Nicole performed her song “Don’t Cha” and prefaced it by saying, “This is for you, Ed.”

The Sun notes a rep for Ed denied the two are romantically involved.

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