Stevie Nicks Reveals What Tom Petty’s Ex-Wife Said About Their Close Friendship
Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty were good friends for a long time, and many suspected the Fleetwood Mac star and the “Learning to Fly” singer had a romantic relationship, even when Petty was married. Nicks once revealed what Petty’s ex-wife said about her close friendship with the musician.
Stevie Nicks called Tom Petty her ‘best guy friend’
Tom Petty and Stevie Nicks had a famous friendship and musical connection, and they collaborated on the song “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.” The Fleetwood Mac singer often said she loved Petty before she even met him, and at first, he resisted her friendship.
In 2014, the Toronto Sun asked Petty to summarize his friendship with Nicks. “Have you got a couple of hours?” the “Free Fallin’” singer responded. “She’s a good friend. I’ve known her since 1978 and she’s insisted on being in my life. Some of my best musical memories of her are sitting on the couch and just playing the guitar while she sings.”
And Nicks once reportedly said in the Rolling Stone 772 Writers Notes (per In Her Own Words), “As God is my witness, Tom [Petty] and I are very good friends. I just talked to Tom the night that we found out about Princess Diana, talked to him on the phone for an hour.”
She continued, “He lives very close to here, he lives right down there. So Tom and I are, like, neighbors. And it’s great because he really is my good friend. He’s my best guy friend… Tom and I have been really good friends since he gave me “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around.’”
Stevie Nicks revealed what Tom Petty’s ex-wife said about their friendship
In the Rolling Stone 772 Writers Notes, Stevie Nicks also revealed what Tom Petty’s ex-wife, Jane Petty, said about their close friendship.
“His ex-wife, Jane Petty, said, ‘Besides me, Stevie, I think that you’re the best friend that Tom ever had,’” Nicks described. “And I thought that was the nicest thing that anybody in Tom’s world ever said about me because I think so. I agree. I was a really close friend of his.”
Speaking of his death, she added, “It’s hard for me every day and probably always will be.”
Jane Petty is partially responsible for Nicks’ 1981 hit “Edge of Seventeen.” Jane told the Fleetwood Mac star that she had met Petty at “the age of seventeen.” Nicks misheard Jane’s North Florida accent, inspiring the title of her song.
The Fleetwood Mac star said romantic rumors ‘messed up’ her relationship with the ‘Free Fallin’’ singer
Stevie Nicks also shared that romantic rumors about Tom Petty affected their friendship.
“A hundred years ago, the press really kind of messed up our friendship [so when] Tom did all those shows up in San Francisco, he really didn’t want me to come up. Because of the press,” Nicks explained. “And I was very hurt because of this. That is what the press does.”
She continued, “So the press did manage to get in and destroy my ability to go and see my favorite rock star play at my favorite place, The Fillmore. I didn’t get to go because of the press.”
