Stevie Nicks Says Lindsey Buckingham Made Her Feel ‘Like A Dying Flower’

In a new chat with The Los Angeles Times, Stevie Nicks address Fleetwood Mac's 2018 firing of Lindsey Buckingham. Buckingham went on to quickly settle a multi-million dollar lawsuit against Live Nation for being forced off the band's tour, which would reportedly earn each member of the group an estimated $12 million to $14 million for 60 concerts.

Buckingham, who hit the road on his own, was sidelined by open heart surgery, claimed that he was frozen out of the band for allegedly mocking Nicks during the band's MusiCares honors. Nicks said the action was, “(the) straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Nicks, who began performing with Buckingham in the late-1960's, was romantically linked with the guitarist from 1971 to 1976. She said of Buckingham's departure: “I never planned for that to happen. Any time we re-formed to do a tour or a record, I always walked in with hope in my heart. And I just was so disappointed. I felt like all the wind had gone out of my sails. . . It was a long time coming.”

Nicks spoke candidly about the state of their fractured relationship in recent years: “I just felt like a dying flower all the time. I stayed with him from 1968 until that night. It’s a long time. And I really could hear my parents — I could hear my mom saying, 'Are you really gonna do this for the rest of your life?' And I could hear my dad saying in his very pragmatic way — because my dad really liked Lindsey — 'I think it’s time for you and Lindsey to get a divorce.' It’s a very unfortunate thing. It makes me very, very sad.”

Stevie Nicks revealed that she reached out to Lindsey Buckingham after his after his 2019 heart surgery, writing to him: “You better take care of yourself. You better take it easy and you better do everything they tell you and get your voice back and feel the grace that you have made it through this.”

Back in 2012 during a Q&A at the Hamptons International Film Festival, Stevie Nicks touched upon some of her longtime issues with Lindsey Buckingham: “I mean, obviously, I didn't go out with that guy, 'cause he was, like, a jerk. I went out with him 'cause he was gorgeous, and he had a beautiful smile, and a wonderful laugh, and he was a lot of fun. . . in the beginning (laughter, applause). And then, like men and women do, they get possessive, and consuming, and all-powerful, and wanting to run the show completely. Either you let me drive with you or I'm not gonna do it.”