Stevie Nicks has reflected on the decision to fire Lindsey Buckingham from Fleetwood Mac.
During a wide-ranging interview for Rolling Stone published on Thursday, the singer-songwriter was asked about the ongoing tension between herself and her former partner and bandmate, particularly after dismissing him from the rock band after a performance at the MusiCares Person of the Year benefit concert in January 2018.
In response, Stevie revealed she spoke to Lindsey “for about three minutes” at a celebration of life for Christine McVie held after her death at the age of 79 in November 2022.
“The only time I’ve spoken to Lindsey was there, for about three minutes. I dealt with Lindsey for as long as I could. You could not say that I did not give him more than 300 million chances,” she said, insisting it was the right time to cut ties. “I think that all just happened the way it should have. It happened one night, not planned, at a MusiCares. I didn’t even tell anybody it had happened in my head until the whole ceremony was over.”
Stevie claimed she made the decision to fire Lindsey after he “wasn’t very nice” to people at the event.
“He wasn’t very nice to Harry Styles. I could hear my mom saying, ‘Are you really going to spend the next 15 years of your life with this man?'” the 76-year-old continued. “I could hear my very pragmatic father – and by the way, my mom and dad liked Lindsey a lot – saying, ‘It’s time for you guys to get a divorce.’ Between those two, I said, ‘I’m done.'”
Despite the conflict, Stevie insisted she wished Lindsey the best after he underwent emergency heart surgery in February 2019.
“I hope he lives a long life and continues to go into a studio and work with other people. He’s also an icon, and he can teach people. He’s not stopped in his tracks. He can still make music and have fun,” she shared.
Elsewhere in the conversation, Stevie admitted she didn’t get to speak to her “music soulmate” Christine before she passed away.
And while she misses her every day, the star is now coming to terms with the loss of her “best girlfriend”.
“I just finally realised being onstage, the night before last, in the rain in front of 30,000 people, that it was time for us to let her go. And stop being so sad, because I cried every single night. It’s like, ‘Fly. We’re not holding you down anymore,'” she added.
