Sam Smith says 'Love Goes' is their first "proper" heartbreak album.

The 'Diamonds' hitmaker has penned many songs about heartache over the years, but the end of their first serious relationship with '13 Reasons Why' actor Brandon Flynn in 2018, was the first time they'd felt "real" heartbreak, and that has inspired much of the record.

Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music ahead of the LP’s release on Friday (30.10.20), they admitted: "I'd say [this was] the first proper time I've been actually heartbroken. That feeling of they're gone, you can't sleep, the really, really bad feeling.

"The others were the idea of it and it was pure unrequited love. This, I would like to say that we loved each other. So, I definitely, definitely loved him. So yeah, it was proper."

The Grammy-winner went on to explain that their relationship "awakened" them "sexually" and revealed that the track 'Forgive Myself' is about learning to accept that "maybe I wasn't great as well".

The 'Too Good at Goodbyes' hitmaker added: "Horrible thing to admit, this album is about a certain relationship and it's my first ever relationship that I had. All my relationships have been four to five months, but this was the first biggie, I'd say. And it awakened me sexually, it awakened so many parts of me. It was a trial for sure and I was dealing with so much in my head whilst going through it. There's a song called 'Forgive Myself' on the album and that was actually ... It's towards the end of the album, but I actually wrote it at the beginning. And that was the big thing is like, I don't have you here anymore to talk through this or to take the blame or anything. I've got to figure this all out by myself now, and to do that, I've got to accept that maybe I wasn't great as well."