After Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham and John and Christine McVie ended their respective relationships, they all began dating other people. This made for some discomfit as the exes were all still working together in Fleetwood Mac. Nicks and McVie revealed that while they dated a number of different people, they never wanted to bring them around the band. They knew that any new partner would be treated poorly by their male bandmates.
Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie both went through breakups with bandmates
While writing and recording the album Rumours, the McVies divorced, and Nicks and Buckingham broke up. The band, which had once been primarily composed of couples, now had five single people. Tensions ran high during this period.
“We were cool onstage,” Nicks told The Guardian. “But offstage everybody was pretty angry. Most nights Chris and I would just go for dinner on our own, downstairs in the hotel, with security at the door.”
According to McVie, the relationship between Nicks and Buckingham was especially explosive.
“John and I used to be civil – ‘What key is this in? What do you want me to do on this song?’ – but Stevie and Lindsey were fighting all the time,” she explained. “Very volatile. Their relationship still is an ongoing battle.”
They never wanted to bring their boyfriends around the other members of Fleetwood Mac
When Nicks and McVie began dating other people, they wanted to keep them far from their bandmates.
“We almost always had boyfriends, but they weren’t on the road because they’d just get stomped on,” Nicks said. “For me to have a guy out on the road with us, and have Lindsey glaring at him the whole time? Or for Christine to have a guy out and John just walk past and flip him off? No, we both learned very early on that we would never bring boyfriends on the road because it created arguments.”
McVie learned the hard way that the band would have an adverse reaction to her new partners when they found out she had a relationship with the lighting director.
“When they found out I was seeing him he got fired shortly after – because of it!” she said. “I didn’t really bring fellas on the road with me after that.”
According to both women, however, the men frequently brought their new girlfriends on the road with the band. The double standard didn’t bother Nicks or McVie, however.
“The boys brought girlfriends on the road but the thing about that was we didn’t care they had new girlfriends! Because we didn’t want to be with them!” Nicks said. “We were happy they had new girlfriends! Thrilled! Oh my God, they’re happy! The pressure is off!”
Stevie Nicks and Christine McVie acknowledge the double standards for women in music
Both Nicks and McVie acknowledge that there was a double standard in how they were treated in contrast with the men. McVie said the difference in treatment was typical.
“Whatever keeps the lads happy, I suppose.”
Nicks also noted that she and McVie were criticized for behaving the same way as the men.
“The guys in the business were ‘supposed’ to do drugs, they were ‘supposed’ to sleep with a different chick every night, that was the romantic idea,” she said.
Despite this, both women poured themselves into their music careers and have continued performing with Fleetwood Mac for decades.
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