Random Fascinating Stories From Stevie Nicks’s Love Life (13 items)

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  (#9) Jimmy Iovine Hid Nicks From Tom Petty In His Basement 

  During the recording of her 1981 solo album Bella Donna, Nicks became romantically involved with the album's producer, music executive Jimmy Iovine. Iovine would later tell Howard Stern that the experience caused a rift between him and his longtime friend and business partner Tom Petty.

  Iovine claims that, prior to Nicks's solo career, many in the music industry were under the impression that she was incapable of singing more than three songs on an album - since she'd spent years splitting vocals with Buckingham and McVie. He took it upon himself to produce Bella Donna, and soon he and Nicks were living together. 

  While he was working with Nicks, Iovine says he was supposed to be "100 percent" invested in producing for Petty. That meant that whenever Petty stopped by, Iovine asked Nicks to hide in his basement to prevent any potential conflict. 

  Iovine inevitably introduced the talented singers to one another, and Nicks and Petty performed "Stop Dragging My Heart Around." When the duet ended up on Nicks's album, Petty and Iovine fell out of contact. They have since mended their friendship. 
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  (#1) Nicks And Buckingham Met When She Interrupted His Performance At A High School Party

  Nicks met Buckingham at a high school party when she "brazenly burst into harmony with him" while he jammed to the Mamas and the Papas' "California Dreamin'." The two went their separate ways, but were reunited two years later when Buckingham was looking for a new female vocalist for his band, Fritz.

  The two reconnected in 1968 at San Jose State University, where Buckingham was well into his first year and Nicks was studying speech therapy. At just 20 years old, Nicks had her friend drive to Buckingham's place - where she began her music career, as well as the tumultuous, decades-long romance that inspired several of Fleetwood Mac's most notable songs. 

  Years later, during a television interview, Nicks spoke fondly of her relationship with Buckingham. "I loved him before he was a millionaire. We were two kids out of Menlo-Atherton High School. I loved him for all the right reasons," she said. "We did have a great relationship at first. I loved taking care of him and the house."
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  (#8) Nicks Wrote ‘Sara’ About Her And Don Henley’s Unborn Baby

  Stevie Nicks and Eagles founder Don Henley pursued a relationship in the late '70s, which resulted in a terminated pregnancy. In a 2014 interview with Billboard, Nicks admits the song "Sara," off Fleetwood Mac's 1979 album Tusk, is partially about the couple's unborn child. As Nicks explained, "Had I married Don and had that baby, and had she been a girl, I would have named her Sara." 

  Years prior, Henley spoke about the couple's past relationship. Nicks confirmed that "Sara" is about her and Henley's unborn child, but "not the entirety of it."

  Around the same time as her and Henley's relationship, Nicks was watching her ex, Mick Fleetwood, fall in love with Sara Recor, Nicks's former friend whom Fleetwood later married. 
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  (#5) Nicks And Fleetwood Used To Sneak Off On Long Drives Through The Hollywood Hills

  Fleetwood dishes on his and Nicks's love affair in his autobiography, Play On: Now, Then, and Fleetwood Mac: The Autobiography. He claims Buckingham predicted their relationship shortly after he and Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac. Early on, Buckingham asked Fleetwood, "So... it's you and Stevie, isn't it?"

  Though Buckingham would likely deny this, Fleetwood insists the guitarist knew before anyone else that he and Nicks were "soulmates." 

  Fleetwood never intended to become romantic with his new pal's former girlfriend, and when they did start spending time together, they kept it a secret. Fleetwood recalls being exhausted from touring, and that they were both unhappy with their personal lives. They found solace in each other and would often take long drives through the Hollywood Hills to escape the chaos. Once while on tour in New Zealand, they drove up to a crater to watch the sunrise and spent the entire subsequent day in bed together without "a care in the world." 

  Fleetwood says he and Nicks were very much in love with each other, though they were both seeing other people when they began their affair. He waited until he knew he'd fallen for her to tell Buckingham, and he believes they could have had something together if they weren't "distracted" by other people. 
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  (#3) Nicks Wrote 'Dreams' About Buckingham

  At the end of 1975, Fleetwood Mac's self-titled album had gone gold and the band was officially on the road to becoming rock stars. By early 1976, they were working on Rumours in Sausalito, California, and Nicks and Buckingham were on the outs, which made it all the more difficult for Buckingham when he took it upon himself to turn "Dreams" into the hit it is today. 

  Nicks and Buckingham attempted to keep their "personal feelings in one corner of the room while trying to be professional in the other," according to the guitarist. Ultimately, however, those feelings came out, and "Dreams" is a reflection of their gradual separation. 

  Nicks wrote "Dreams" in 10 minutes one afternoon when she took a Fender Rhodes piano to Sly Stone's studio and sat on a velvet bed with Victorian curtains and cranked out the tune. The rest of the band was not immediately impressed with the song. Christine McVie says she found it "really boring." Buckingham saw its potential, however, and made "Dreams" a success by using three identical chords in three different sections to "create the impression that there's a thread running through the whole thing."

  Nicks says that Buckingham ignored the lyrics she wrote since they were so obviously directed at him. She also says that they were in response to "Go Your Own Way," the song he'd already written about her. However, "Dreams" was meant to be "open and hopeful." Nicks further explains that the line, "When the rain washes you clean," is her way of saying she wanted Buckingham to be happy. 

  In 2005, Nicks said she could never go on stage without singing "Dreams." 
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  (#6) Fleetwood Left Nicks For Her Friend Sara Recor, And Both Relationships Dissolved

  Nicks recalls the 1979 recording of Fleetwood Mac's 12th studio album, Tusk, as "13 months of hell." Just as Nicks had started seeing Fleetwood - in an already scandalous relationship that caused tension within the band - her "dear friend" Sara Recor "just went after Mick." The two quickly fell in love.

  After Fleetwood and Nicks's relationship ended, Recor's husband informed Nicks that Fleetwood and Recor had moved in together. Recor was consequently banned from the Fleetwood Mac studio, and Nicks "wouldn't even look directly at Mick" for months. 

  Though she was undoubtedly heartbroken, Nicks says losing Fleetwood wasn't nearly as consequential as losing Recor. At least one good thing came out of the troublesome love triangle, however. "It was great fodder for writing!" Nicks says. "The songs poured out of us."

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