Alex Carson
When Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined the band Fleetwood Mac, they had already been romantically involved for many years. The two decided to call their romantic relationship off during the recording of their second album with the band, though they were determined not to let their breakup affect their music. Both members pushed aside their feelings and remained with the band until recently, when Lindsey claims Stevie gave the rest of the band an ultimatum to have him kicked out. After all these years, it seems like neither Lindsey nor Stevie has gotten closure in the wake of their breakup. Join Facts Verse as we cover how Lindsey Buckingham just revealed sad details about his time dating Stevie Nicks.
Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks may be best known as members of the classic rock band Fleetwood Mac, but neither was a founding member of the group. The group had already been around for many years before the two high school sweethearts joined. Lindsey and Stevie had met for the first time when the latter found the former singing “California Dreamin” at a high school party and decided to join in. Two years later, Lindsey asked Stevie if she wanted to join his rock and roll band, which was at the time called Fritz.
Fritz didn’t last very long, but Lindsey and Stevie’s relationship persevered through it’s end. The two continued making music together, and had also become a couple. They struggled for a period of time to find success in the music industry on their own, with Stevie supporting the two via a waitressing job while Lindsey recorded music at home. When Stevie was done with work, she would come home and record vocals with Lindsey until the morning.
Lindsey and Stevie signed with a label and released the album Buckingham Nicks, which proved to be a commercial flop. Following it’s release, the artists were dropped from the label and found themselves questioning their future. Around the same time, guitarist Mick Fleetwood was looking for a new guitarist for his rock and roll band, Fleetwood Mac. The group’s previous guitarist, Bob Welch, had quit. Little did Mick know that he was about to get not only a new guitarist, but a new singer that would take the band to new heights.
Not many people had heard the album Buckingham Nicks, but Mick Fleetwood had. He was impressed by Lindsey Buckingham’s musical abilities on the album and subsequently offered him the gig of performing with Fleetwood Mac. Lindsey agreed on the condition that his lover, Stevie Nicks, could join, as well. With the addition of Lindsey and Stevie, the most iconic lineup of Fleetwood Mac was formed. The band had been through several iterations already, but none of the iterations had proved successful. When people think of Fleetwood Mac nowadays, they are thinking largely of the contributions of Lindsey and Stevie specifically.
Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks officially joined the band Fleetwood Mac on New Year’s Eve of 1974. In the following few years, the band would release it’s two most successful albums to date, with those being the self-titled album Fleetwood Mac and it’s follow-up album Rumours. While Fleetwood Mac wasn’t the band’s first album, it might as well have been in the eyes of the public. Off of the success of such singles as “Say You Love Me” and “Landslide”, the album became a massive success. Both songs featured prominent vocal performances from Stevie Nicks, who proved to be the breakout star of the band.
Lindsey and Stevie’s relationship lasted throughout the recording and release of the self-titled Fleetwood Mac before eventually falling apart during the recording of Rumours. The album featured breakup songs that the two musical artists had written about each other, including “Dreams” from Stevie and “Go Your Own Way” from Lindsey. Though the two had never been married, they claimed that it felt like a divorce. Still, they made a pact that they would not let their breakup affect the success of the band. Both of them had worked incredibly hard to get where they were. It was Lindsey who had gotten Stevie the gig, and it was Stevie that was arguably responsible for making them into such big stars.
Lindsey and Stevie both bottled up their emotions for the sake of the band. According to Lindsey, it was Stevie who made the decision to end the relationship. However, there seems to be a lot of doubt about what exactly caused their relationship to sour. The two continued working professionally together for over four decades before something recently caused Stevie to say that she couldn’t do it anymore. Facing either the loss of star vocalist Stevie Nicks or the loss of lead guitarist Lindsey Buckingham, the rest of the band made the decision to fire the latter to appease the former in 2018. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! Also, subscribe to the channel if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks bottled up their emotions after their breakup in order to prevent their successful band from falling apart. While this proved beneficial for the band’s future success, it also made it difficult for both of the musicians over the years. Both have claimed that they were never able to truly get closure after their breakup, despite the fact that they worked together for several decades afterwards. They kept things incredibly professional, and didn’t allow anything to be personal.
Although it appears that Lindsey and Stevie managed to keep things from getting too personal before, this seemed to change in 2018. Stevie suddenly decided that she could no longer be around Lindsey, even though the two had amicably navigated their post-breakup careers together for over four decades. Stevie claimed that what sparked the incident was Lindsey scoffing at something that she said during a speech. For his part, Lindsey claimed that he had no idea what she was talking about and has since decided that the singer likely made the story up in order to form a coup against him. However, it remains unclear why Stevie would decide to form a coup against her former lover after the two had managed to coexist seemingly peacefully for so many years.
Stevie Nicks has remained adamant that she didn’t give the other members of Fleetwood Mac an ultimatum regarding the firing of Lindsey Buckingham, but it seems clear that she left them little decision. The singer made it clear that she was no longer willing to work with Lindsey, and that fact pretty much insinuated the ultimatum to her fellow bandmates. Mick Fleetwood was reportedly incredibly saddened after making the decision to let go of his longtime friend to appease Stevie, but the numbers spoke for themselves… Fleetwood Mac without Lindsey Buckingham simply was an easier sell than Fleetwood Mac without Stevie Nicks.
A year after being kicked out of Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham had to undergo a triple-bypass surgery after suffering a massive heart attack. While he was in recovery, Stevie Nicks sent him a letter expressing her warm regards, and the two have apparently had sporadic contact since. Still, Stevie hasn’t let up on her stance that she isn’t willing to perform with her former bandmate of several decades.
Although Stevie was the one who broke off the relationship between her and Lindsey, she claimed it was because the two joining the band had ruined their romantic chemistry. Stevie was the one who pulled the plug on the relationship, but she remained saddened that, in her eyes, she had lost her former lover and best friend to their band. She has expressed that she believes her and Lindsey would’ve gotten married eventually if they hadn’t joined Fleetwood Mac together, and would’ve gone on to have kids. According to Stevie, her parents always loved Lindsey and were saddened to see him go.
In the year 2000, Lindsey Buckingham married a woman by the name of Kristen Messner. Together, the two have had a total of three kids. The couple took a break from their relationship around the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, though it appears that they are still married. Lindsey learned that he had been fired from Fleetwood Mac after getting a phone call from his manager. When his manager asked him what he had done to make Stevie so mad, Lindsey wasn’t sure. It wasn’t until later that he learned about the supposed incident wherein he had scoffed during her speech.
Lindsey didn’t take his firing from Fleetwood Mac lying down. The band went on tour after letting the guitarist go, and he subsequently sued his fellow bandmates for $12 million. $12 million was the sum of money that Lindsey had determined that he would’ve made if he had been allowed to go on tour with the group. Despite Lindsey suing his former bandmates, it still appears as if Mick Fleetwood is open to the idea of continuing to perform with his old friend in some capacity.
It remains uncertain what the future will be for Fleetwood Mac, and if we will ever again see the most iconic lineup of the group perform together on the stage. If Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks are to ever get back together in a professional capacity, it seems that they still have some work to do when it comes to their decades-old relationship. If neither Lindsey nor Stevie ever got closure after their tumultuous breakup, maybe it’s time that they did so now! Perhaps, if Lindsey and Stevie can finally get closure on their relationship, we can see them back together on stage soon.
Although Fleetwood Mac members Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks managed to work together for over four decades after their heated breakup, it appears that both parties still have unresolved emotions. Now it’s time to hear from you: do you think that Stevie Nicks should allow her bandmates to let Lindsey Buckingham back into Fleetwood Mac, or do you think that the two deserve some time apart after putting their differences aside for so many decades? As always, like this video to show your support, and subscribe and hit the notification bell if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
