Fleetwood Mac singer Christine McVie Learned a lot about love and loss before his death.
The keyboardist got his start in blues band Chicken Shack before working as a session musician with Fleetwood Mac in 1968. She married the band’s bass player, John McVeythe same year and later became an official member of Fleetwood Mac, contributing to some of the group’s biggest hits.
According to the 2024 biography Songbirdthe author Leslie Ann Jones He remembered opening up about his previous marriages with Christine.
“Being in the same band as your partner kills the relationship,” Christine said. “Being in a different band than your mate would definitely kill him. Because the road takes you in different directions, and the temptations of the road are many. Which is worse? I couldn’t say. I just Know that John and I were in each other’s faces 24/7. Eventually, you get to the point where you want to kill them, if they don’t try to kill you first.
The couple faced their fair share of challenges while working together and traveling together, including John’s drinking. Before ending their marriage, Christine and John were “connected at the hip.” per Songbird“Their inability to spend enough time apart was the main killer of their relationship.”
Christine was married again after her split from John – and like the other members of Fleetwood Mac, she had some now infamous affairs. The songwriter died in November 2022 aged 79 after suffering a stroke.
Scroll down to take a look at Christine’s love life:
John McVey
“John and Christine were married on Saturday, August 3, 1968, at the Register Office in Oldbury, near Birmingham. There was no press coverage, neither bride nor groom had yet hit the big time. … [Fleetwood Mac founder] Peter Green was the best man of the couple,” Jones wrote in Songbird. “Oaks. Because Chris had a crush on McVeigh’s bandmate for as long as she could remember.
According to Jones’ biography, Green called Christine the night before the ceremony and told her not to go through with the wedding. The warning was not heeded, and Christine tried to be a “model housewife” for John before getting to know and like the rock star’s fans. The couple never welcomed children and eventually divorced in 1976.
Birth of Martin
In the early 70s – before separating from John – Christine had a relationship with Fleetwood Mac’s sound engineer Barth, who was also married at the time.
“She convinced herself that she was in love with him, and made her feelings known. … Although faithful servant Birch produced five albums for the band, Mick and John brutally fired her. What was it about? None of the men in this setup were angels,” Jones wrote Songbird.
Speaking to Jones about the affair years later, Christine said the romance felt “really lopsided” and “damaged my self-esteem.” She added, “During that whole period I didn’t like myself. I sunk so low. I loved John, of course I did, even though a part of me really hated him. .
Curry Grant
During the preparation of 1977 RumorsChristine finds herself involved with Grant, a lighting engineer. Their relationship inspired Christine to write “You Make Love Fun”.
“It’s an oral, choral flirtation with her new lover, Cary Grant, and it’s clearly meant. She’s having a light, no-strings-attached romance with this handsome boy, and that’s all she wants. is,” Jones wrote in his book 2024. “To avoid punishment and bloodshed, she asked her departing spouse [John] That he wrote about his dog. Dear, wonderful you.”
Dennis Wilson
Christine fell head over heels for the Beach Boys drummer after her divorceRumors. “Just like every other woman who fell for Dennis before him, [Christine] was killed and he didn’t care who knew it,” Jones wrote.
The pair’s romance peaked while Fleetwood Mac was recording. Tusk. “In one fell swoop, the duo had become rock’s ultimate power couple, the industry’s greatest love,” per Songbird.
Christine was briefly engaged to Wilson, but the two went their separate ways in 1982 after Wilson’s affair. Wilson accidentally drowned a year later and died at age 39.
Eddie Quintella
While working on her eponymous solo album, Christine met Portuguese keyboardist and composer Quintala. “He got under her skin, paradoxically, in a way that he wouldn’t have if she weren’t still pining for Dennis,” Jones wrote, noting that after Christine turned 40 in 1983 she “reinstated her motherhood. She was very aware of it.”
Christine and Quintilla were married in October 1986. None of Christine’s Fleetwood Mac bandmates were present at the event, and according to SongbirdQuintella hoped that Christine would leave the group for good. “His insistence on making his own decisions and following his own will was a source of increasing conflict between the two,” Jones wrote.
The former couple divorced in 2003 and Quintella died in 2020.