Suffolk, UK - Ed Sheeran's latest album wasn't supposed to happen. But when the singer found himself in a pit of sadness, he knew the remedy could be found in a six-string guitar.

After touring his highest-grossing album to date, Divide, Sheeran decided to take a year off to focus on his personal life.

His wife, Cherry Seaborn (29), had just had their daughter, Lyra Antarctica, and the singer figured the next best move for him and his family would be to put music aside and fully submerge himself into fatherhood.

"I was kind of searching for who I was because I stopped playing music for a bit. And music is entirely me as a person," Sheeran told People.

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But though he had his sights set on becoming a full-time, hands-on dad, his mental health started to suffer, and Sheeran found himself feeling as if he has "zero purpose" in life without songwriting.

After grappling with this realization, the 30-year-old Englishman changed his plan completely.

"I think it's more important for my daughter to grow up knowing that her parents have the work ethic and her parents love working hard and love creating and enjoy their jobs and seeing that rather than like looking at your dad as technically unemployed," he said.

But just because he's stepping back into the limelight and tour life doesn't mean he's forgotten the role of fatherhood, and he even has a tattoo to prove it.

His latest addition, an orca tattoo on his tricep, made its first Instagram appearance on July 9, though likely not on purpose. In the post, Sheeran is sitting on a couch with his hands behind his head, partially showing off the ink for all to see.

The killer whale represents not only his love for the animal, but also for Antarctica, where he and his wife conceived their now 11-month-old daughter.

Despite admitting to the Sun that most of his tattoos are inspired by something "random" happening, the orca ink was the exception to this rule.

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Though the Bad Habits singer has covered his arms almost entirely with tattoos, he no longer forces himself to sit in a chair for hours on end just to complete the piece in one sitting.

"In my twenties, I would sit for 18 hours and just blitz it," Sheeran told the Sun. "Now I’m like two hours in, 'just do it in a month' kinda thing."

Meanwhile, Sheeran isn't worried about expectations that "the next album has to be even bigger" than Divide. Ultimately, he just hopes that his career allows him enough time to be present with his wife and daughter, all the while living out his life's passion.