The modern equivalent of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham

(Credits: Far Out / Polydor)

Mon 1 September 2025 2:00, UK

You never know the minute when it comes to the antics of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham. One second, they’re at each other’s throats, the next, they’ve been reeled in by the money, and they’re re-releasing music together. 

Maybe there’s some potion of peace in the air in 2025. Rock music’s most fractious couple are back on amicable terms, and Oasis are even back part of the love-in, so maybe this reconciliatory spirit is being spread all around. Whether it’s brothers or lovers, musical reunions seem to be – for the time being – on the up.

But this also got me thinking – we don’t really have a modern day equivalent to Buckingham Nicks, do we? A couple whose love story is at times intoxicating, but who also kind of hate each other’s guts, and who combine to make this into an electrifying force for our rapturous consumption. It’s a call to arms for all the celebrity couples out there – stop being so nice to each other, start arguing!

Of course, there is obviously an element of this which is augmented for the cameras. Looking more broadly across the pop culture sphere, just take the recent case of Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson, who, following the release of the most recent Naked Gun film, painted themselves as a very cosy item indeed. It was – allegedly – all a stunt for the sake of publicity, and a very successful one, so you have to hand it to them. But it just reminds us how much we love to indulge in this romantic veneer. 

You have other female artists who could take the position of Nicks in this case, such as Gracie Abrams in her relationship with Paul Mescal, and Sabrina Carpenter in her fiery recent break-up from Barry Keoghan. With both men coincidentally starring opposite each other in the highly anticipated Beatles biopics, it seems like they could soon be getting a taste of their own medicine in terms of depicting tense romantic affairs on the big screen, never mind in their real lives. 

Then you get into the purely speculative aspect of the sphere – and forgive me, because even I may be getting a little over-excited here. Harry Styles was recently spotted with Zoë Kravitz, and naturally, it sent the social media rumour mill into overdrive. Sure, Kravitz is an actor, but the possibility of her branching into the musical realm isn’t entirely implausible given her family tree. On top of this, Styles’ connection to Nicks is perhaps one of the most well-documented sonic lineages in modern music, so could he be taking a leaf out of her book in this respect too?

It’s impossible to say, naturally, but our proclivity for gossip and storylines goes hand in hand with any musical output itself these days. Testament to that is the fact that the Buckingham Nicks re-release created as much hype as it has, even half a century on from their relationship going down the drain. Drama is the spice of life in the rock music world – whether it’s Buckingham Nicks, Styles and Kravitz, or even Jack and Meg White of the White Stripes. We love it all.

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