Fleetwood Machas enjoyed a reputation within the music space as being one of the best bands in rock history.Their best songsspeak for themselves and solidify their greatness, although their presence in music history has less to do with their music and more to do with the rumors, stories, and drama that contributed to their legendary status.
In that regard, Fleetwood Mac’s greatness is often defined by fans wonderingwhatever happened between Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks. At the height of their fame, rumors swirled around the romance within Fleetwood Mac between Nicks and Buckingham. The pairing’s coupling not only pre-dates their inclusion in Fleetwood Mac, but proved to be a contributing factor to at least one of the times thatLindsey Buckingham left Fleetwood Mac.
Thanks to numerous interviews, books, and journalistic accounts of the experience, it’s become possible to recount exactly what happened between them and how it affected the band.
Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks Were Partners When They Joined Fleetwood Mac
The Beginnings of Fleetwood Mac’s Central Couple
The union of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckinghamdoesn’t begin with Fleetwood Mac, but years beforehand. Buckingham and Nicks actually met while attending Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, California. The two met while Buckingham was a junior and Nicks a senior. Naturally, the two would bond over music. As recollected byQ Magazine, Nicks and Buckingham’s worlds would collide for the first time at a student party, Buckingham locking eyes with Nicks as she played guitar on the floor. When Buckingham found himself playing “California Dreamin'” by The Mamas and the Papas, Nicks would join his performance without hesitation.
It was practically love at first sight for the two aspiring musicians, both of whom would already be a part of bands when they met. Buckingham was a member of Fritz (who opened for Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin between 1968 and 1970, contributing to early promise and success) while Nicks was in The Changing Times. With two members of Fritz leaving for college elsewhere, this compelled Buckingham to ask Nicks to join Fritz as a lead singeras a replacement, allowing them to work more closely together, but also become closer as lovers.
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Eventually, Buckingham and Nicks decided to embark on their own success while attending San Jose University together. They’d agree to dropout in hopes of pursuing their music ambitions full-time, leading to the formation of Buckingham Nicks. They recorded an album together under Polydor, and while the studio would soon drop them due to poor sales, Mick Fleetwood hearing the song “Frozen Love” from the album impressed him enough to inspire a meeting in 1972. Upon Bob Welch leaving the band, Mick offered Buckingham to join as their new guitarist. Buckingham refused to play without his partner, and Mick relented,leading to the couple joining Fleetwood Mac in 1975.
Buckingham and Nicks Would Struggle In Their Relationship Over Time
How Nicks and Buckingham Turmoils Affected Fleetwood Mac
Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham would quickly leave their mark asFleetwood Mac’s most influential members, largely contributing to their first album as part of the band:Rumours. Granted, much of that albums greatness was formulated because, at the time, most of its members were living through a soap opera thatslowly unraveled their respective lives. This was particularly true for Buckingham and Nicks, whose passionate souls refused to submit for each other for the sanctity of this project. Both parties having opinions on how Rumours should take shape infamously led to aggessive shouting matches and cocaine-fueled intensity.
In an interview withOprah’s Master Classon the Oprah Winfrey Network, Nicks would pull her partner to the side as the band was wrapping up recordings for their 12 tracks andshe ended things with Buckingham. Nicks wouldn’t quit the band, encourged her lover not to leave the band, and was determined that their estrangement was not going to break-up the band. In Nick’s words, “the band was way more important than each separate person’s problems.” While it was difficult to do so, the ex-lovers managed to continue actively being a part of Fleetwood Mac.
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While still in the band, the disgruntled collaborators would use their creative skills to illustrate their inner turmoil through their lyrics. Songs like “Go Your Own Way” and “Dreams” manage to harmonize the grief Fleetwood Mac were experiencing collectively during their recording sessions, particularly for Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham during their breakup. Few songs truly tellthe story of what the two went through in Fleetwood Mac quite like “Silver Springs.”Written by Stevie Nicks,Fleetwood Mac’s “Silver Springs” is aboutLindsey Buckingham and their relationship. Granted, she doesn’t give the most flattering overview on dating him.
“Silver Springs” was originally released as the B-side to “Go Your Own Way’s” A-side single on July 19, 2025. Written for Rumours, the song was cut to prevent the album from being too long.
As Nicks has explained in the past, the title derives from when she and then-boyfriend Buckingham were driving through Maryland underneath a freeway sign that read “Silver Springs.” Along with liking the name, she believed that the title was perfectlysymbolic of the potential of their romance, namely the potential that was lost when they agreed to break up with each other. “Silver Springs” reflects the complicated feelings of both falling in love and falling out of love with someone.
At first, the song reads like an actual love ballad, with Nicks pontificating her affections to Buckingham, promising that “I would be your only dream / Your shinin' autumn ocean crashin'.” As with any form of new love, Nicks is optimistic about the future, but that optimism is what soon crashes down. Optimism turns to doubt as the love begins to fade.
So I’ll begin not to love you
Turn around, see me runnin'
I’ll say I loved you years ago
Tell myself you never loved me, no
Don’t say that she’s pretty
And did you say that she loved you?
Baby, I don’t want to know
By the end of the song, Nicks has painted a picture of a man who “would not let” her love him, no matter how badly she did. It’s an alternative perspective compared to Buckingham’s breakup song, “Go Your Own Way,” and hearing them back to back makes for a fascinating swan song to a love that once was.
Buckingham’s Ousting From The Band
Where Fleetwood Mac Stands Now
While Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks were able to co-exist within Fleetwood Mac for as long as they possibly could,Fleetwood Mac and Buckingham eventually parted waysin 1987 in the midst of a tour. The stress of the tour and feelings of being underappreciated ultimately led to Buckingham deciding to walk away. He’d inevitably return years later for a reunion, but in 2018, he’d be fired reportedly over disagreements over an upcoming tour. While the band released a statement attesting to still respect Buckingham in his exit, the feeling wasn’t mutual once Buckingham filed a lawsuit against them.
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It soon became evident that the demons of the past were affecting the present, as Nicks herself, perYahoo, confirmed that Buckingham’s exit was due to their relationship, not a tour disagreement. She expressed being offended by his alleged rudeness at a MusiCares charity event to figures like Harry Styles. Buckingham then recalls toRolling Stonethat he gave Fleetwood Mac the ultimatum of either he’d go or Nicks go. Still, Mick Fleetwood has openly said he remains open to reuniting everyone inFleetwood Macdespite the drama, but given the past between Nicks and Buckingham, that bridge may be too burnt to repair this time.
