Stevie Nicks’ Disturbing Actions After Lindsey Buckingham Breakup is Still a Huge Stain on Fleetwood Mac’s Legacy

The story of Fleetwood Mac’s dominance through the rock era cannot be written without mentioning controversy. The band, which gave classics like Dreams and Go Your Own Way, has had years of drama and relationships being created and destroyed within the band. 

Many of these controversies involved Stevie Nicks, the band’s frontwoman. While Nicks’ affair with Lindsey Buckingham was a part of the story of Fleetwood Mac, her next romantic interest left lasting scars on the band’s legacy.

Stevie Nicks’ Troubled Relationships Within Fleetwood Mac

The album Rumours produced in 1977 featured Fleetwood Mac’s biggest hits and its most troubled period as well. The album topped the Billboard charts for weeks, but it was made at the height of the band’s internal chaos. As per Daily Mail, Mick Fleetwood himself confessed that the recording process “almost killed” the members.

The drama initially ignited when Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham broke up during this same period. Their animosity was reflected in their songs. Buckingham wrote Go Your Own Way, which was actually a dig at Nicks. The lyrics stung Nicks as she revealed to Rolling Stone,

I very much resented him telling the world that ‘packing up, shacking up’ with different men was all I wanted to do.

But what followed was even more destructive to the legacy of the band. While dating Eagles’ Don Henley in 1977, Nicks got into a secret affair with Mick Fleetwood, who was married to model Jenny Boyd then. 

However, as per Daily Mail, Nicks still admits that Fleetwood was one of her “great, great loves,” but the relationship they had was a “doomed thing” and “caused a lot of pain to everybody.”

Fleetwood later left both Boyd and Nicks for Sara Recor, who was a good friend of Nicks. This betrayal hit Nicks quite hard, as she told The Independent,

That was three months into a 13-month album. So I lost Mick, which honestly wasn’t that big of a deal because that was a rocky relationship. But losing my friend Sara? That was a huge blow.

The consequences of these affairs cast a long shadow over the band. Their studio sessions got into silent treatment state and tensions and the band members were barely able to look at each other. But somehow, they managed to turn this phase into some of the band’s most iconic work.

Stevie Nicks’ Wisdom for Taylor Swift’s Romance

Although the veteran singer has gone through some personal troubles in the past, she has built lasting friendships with younger stars like Taylor Swift, who seems like a similar soul to her. Their friendship began when Nicks joined Swift to perform at the 2010 Grammy Awards.

Swift also referenced Nicks in her song Clara Bow, which is kind of a nod to both singers managing stardom and personal challenges. Recently, Nicks appears to be especially interested in Swift’s romance with Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce. In a recent Rolling Stone interview, she shared her hopes for the couple.

I hope they fall deeper and deeper in love and ride off into the sunset. He does his thing and she does her thing, and then they come back together and get married and have babies if she wants that.

The friendship between the two iconic singers continues to grow, as Kelce recently accompanied Nicks to watch Swift’s Eras Tour concert. It seems like no matter how many troubled relationships Nick has experienced in her life, she still hopes for a simpler, more stable path for those she cares about.