Stevie Nicks Had a ‘Forbidden Romance’ That Saved Her Life
Stevie Nicks has generally been open about her relationships. At the very least, she’s typically open with the names of her former boyfriends. In one case, though, she’s very quiet about the name of someone who she says saved her life. She gave a bit of insight into the “forbidden relationship” she had in the mid-1990s.
Stevie Nicks has dedicated music to some of her past relationships
Many of Nicks’ early songs found inspiration in her former boyfriend, Lindsey Buckingham. While they struggled to make their music career and relationship work in the pre-Fleetwood Mac years, she wrote “Landslide” about him. While recording Rumours, the couple was going through a breakup. Naturally, much of the music on the album was about this split.
Nicks has a song called “Secret Love” from her album In Your Dreams which she calls “the ode to the rock star.” Despite the dedication, she’s not sure who she wrote the song about.
“I’m not sure who I wrote it about. I wrote it in 1976. It’s so old, I honestly cannot remember,” she told The Guardian. “In ’75, ’76, we were beautiful, fast, sexy, love was everywhere and we were moving from person to person. That’s it. Love was around every corner.”
She said she had one love that saved her life
In the song “For What It’s Worth,” Nicks references a “forbidden romance that saved my life.” She says that this refers to a person who helped her during a difficult period in her life. In the early 1990s, Nicks went to rehab for an addiction to Klonopin. Soon after she exited rehab, Fleetwood Mac was heading out on tour.
According to Nicks, it was “not a good time … I was freaked out. In rehab, when you’re leaving, the last thing they say to you is, ‘Don’t get married, don’t sign contracts, don’t buy a house, don’t sell a house. Nothing heavy.’ Because your judgment is impaired. You’re a shell. And you need to go out there and find out who you are, not on tranquilizers.”
She added that the fact that she was going on tour was especially daunting. This person helped her through it.
“So you walk out into the world and you are a different person,” she said. “And we were going on a tour and I was terrified. Terrified. And this person just sort of hung with me through that tour and buffered me from the world. And he did save my life.”
Stevie Nicks said she would be fine if she never dated again
Though Nicks has had many famous relationships, she says she’d be OK if she didn’t date again. She explained that she has ruled out dating younger men, worries that older men may die, and thinks men her age want someone younger.
“I’ve narrowed it down to nobody,” she told Rolling Stone. “Sounds like a good country song, doesn’t it?”
Despite this, Nicks is content with her life.
“I have had experiences that have been so amazing that if I never go out with anybody again, my memories are so full of incredibly beautiful, sensual, fantastic experiences that it’s OK,” she said. “And my life today is great, and I have wonderful friends, and I have music.”
How to get help: In the U.S., contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline at 1-800-662-4357.
