Why Did Stevie Nicks and Joe Walsh Break Up, Despite Their Deep Love?
Stevie Nicks has always been open about her romantic past, especially when it comes to fellow musicians. Among all her relationships, one stands out as the most powerful: her love for Eagles singer and guitarist Joe Walsh.
In multiple interviews, Nicks described Walsh as her “great, great love.” Their connection was instant—love at first sight, as she recalled in the liner notes of her Time Space album:
“I guess in very few rare cases, some people find someone they fall in love with the very first time they see them… from across the room, from a million miles away. Some people call it love at first sight, and of course, I never believed in that—until that night I walked into a party after a gig at the hotel, and from across the room, without my glasses, I saw this man and I walked straight to him.”
Walsh, when asked about Nicks’ heartfelt words, responded graciously:
“I’m very humbled by it. She’s a great songwriter, a great singer, and a great person.”
Despite the deep love they shared, their relationship didn’t last. The reason? Drug addiction. Nicks later revealed that their cocaine use became dangerously excessive, threatening both of their lives.
“Joe and I broke up because of the coke,” she admitted. “He told my friend and backing singer Sharon, ‘I’m leaving Stevie because I’m afraid one of us is going to die, and the other won’t be able to save them. Our cocaine habit has become so over the top that neither of us can survive this. The only way to save both of us is for me to leave.’”
It wasn’t the only time drugs interfered with Nicks’ relationships. She also called her former Fleetwood Mac bandmate Mick Fleetwood “one of [her] great, great loves.” Their two-year romance was equally intense—and equally troubled.
“And then I fell in love with Mick. That went on for two years. Never in a million years could you have told me that would happen. That was the biggest surprise,” she said in a 1997 interview. “Mick is definitely one of my great, great loves.”
Unfortunately, their love story ended the same way:
“The drugs didn’t help, needless to say. We did a lot of blow. I don’t remember how much—we spent an awful lot of money on it.”