Fleetwood Mac’s Tangled Relationships: Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood
Fleetwood Mac’s music has always been intertwined with the band’s personal relationships. The emotional highs and lows, especially between band members, often shaped their creative output. One such relationship was the brief but intense affair between Stevie Nicks and drummer Mick Fleetwood. Though short-lived, their romance left a lasting mark—both on the band and in Nicks’ songwriting.
“Storms”: A Song of Regret
One of the most personal songs to come from their relationship is “Storms,” featured on the band’s 1979 album Tusk. Nicks wrote it soon after her breakup with Fleetwood, capturing the sadness and regret she felt—especially about the impact on Fleetwood’s then-wife, Jenny Boyd.
“That relationship destroyed Mick’s marriage to Jenny, who was the sweetest person in the world,” Nicks later said. “So did we really think that we were going to come out of it unscathed? Payback is a b****. Bad karma all around.”
“Sara”: Heartbreak and Betrayal
The emotional fallout didn’t end there. While Nicks and Fleetwood were still involved, he began a new relationship with Sara Recor—who happened to be a close friend of Stevie’s. The betrayal deeply hurt her and inspired another track on Tusk: the hauntingly beautiful “Sara.”
In an interview, Nicks reflected on writing the song:
“I remember the night I wrote it… It’s about me, about her, about Mick, about Fleetwood Mac. It’s about all of us at that point.”
“Beauty and the Beast”: A Fairytale That Couldn’t Be
Later, during her solo career, Nicks revisited those complex emotions in “Beauty and the Beast,” a track inspired by the 1946 Jean Cocteau film. The song blends fantasy with reality, capturing how she saw Mick: mysterious, powerful, and ultimately unreachable.
“I always thought of Mick as being sort of Beauty and the Beast-esque,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “And also, it matched our story because Mick and I could never be… because of Fleetwood Mac.”
A Love That Fueled the Music
Though Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood’s relationship was brief, its impact was lasting. Their connection sparked some of Nicks’ most emotionally raw and timeless songs. Behind the drama and heartbreak was a creative force that helped define the sound and soul of Fleetwood Mac during one of its most pivotal eras.