Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham revealed that he and Stevie Nicks are talking regularly again, crediting an upcoming authorized documentary with helping the band heal past tensions following his contentious 2018 firing and subsequent tour drama.
It turns out that even the most legendary interband feuds can soften after decades in the spotlight. Guitarist Lindsey Buckingham shared during an interview at Variety’s Power of Young Hollywood event that his relationship with longtime bandmate and ex-girlfriend Stevie Nicks has shifted significantly. After years of silence and sharp words following his departure from the group, the two musicians are in regular communication.
Stevie and I are talking all the time now,
Buckingham told Today, adding that the renewed contact feels fitting given their shared history spanning more than fifty years.
The Apple TV Documentary as a Healing Catalyst
The thawing of relations between Buckingham and Nicks did not happen by accident. The renewed dialogue developed as surviving members of Fleetwood Mac collaborated on an authorized, definitive documentary about the band’s career.
Apple Original Films announced the project in November 2024 with director Frank Marshall at the helm. Marshall is known for music documentaries chronicling the Beach Boys and the Bee Gees. The upcoming film utilizes archival material, never-before-seen footage, and new interviews to let band members tell their own story. It also incorporates archival interviews featuring Christine McVie, who died in 2022 at age 79.
“I think the process of making that has been a very circular healing process for all of us.”
Lindsey Buckingham, via E! News
Buckingham acknowledged that relationships within the group had been left in a difficult place around the time of his exit. Because we had left things in 2019, maybe as far as I was concerned, not in a very good place for all the wrong reasons… No one was happy about it, and all of that has been healed and worked out,
he said.
Looking Back at the 2018 Departure and Lawsuit
The reconciliation marks a major turning point after a bitter public fracture. Buckingham joined Fleetwood Mac alongside Nicks on New Year’s Eve in 1974. Their volatile personal relationship famously imploded during the recording of their 1977 masterpiece Rumours
, fueling classic tracks like Buckingham’s Go Your Own Way
and Nicks’ Dreams
.
Although both eventually departed between 1987 and 1991 before returning for later tours, the most severe fracture occurred in April 2018. Buckingham was fired from the lineup ahead of an 80-show, eight-country final tour. He later sued the band over his dismissal, alleging he was booted without just cause and cost millions in earnings, before the group settled the lawsuit in December 2018.
In subsequent interviews, Buckingham blamed Nicks for issuing an ultimatum forcing the band to choose between them. Nicks disputed that account, telling different outlets that she had simply chosen to walk away from a toxic dynamic rather than forcing anyone else out. Following the firing, Nicks ceased communication with Buckingham entirely until they crossed paths briefly at Christine McVie’s memorial service.
Earlier Signs of a Thaw and the Milestone Year Ahead
Signs of improving relations emerged before Buckingham’s recent red-carpet remarks. In September 2025, Buckingham and Nicks re-released their 1973 pre-Fleetwood Mac studio album, Buckingham Nicks
, making it officially available on CD and digital streaming platforms for the first time after decades of absence. The reissue climbed to No. 3 on the Top Album Sales chart.
Later in 2025, the pair participated separately in an episode of Song Exploder discussing their track Frozen Love
. During that appearance, Nicks mentioned that she and Buckingham had spoken the previous night.
While Buckingham poured cold water on speculation about an imminent Fleetwood Mac reunion tour, he pointed to 2027 as a pivotal milestone. The year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Rumours
, and the authorized documentary is also slated to arrive around that window.
Next year should be a pretty interesting year,
Buckingham told reporters, noting that he believes quite a few things will reveal themselves.
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