If you’re a fan of Fleetwood Mac, you’re probably no stranger to Lindsay Buckingham and his turbulent past relationship with Stevie Nicks.
The former couple are best known for their breakup, which inspired many songs on their legendary album, Rumours. Their 1997 Silver Springs performance is one of the most famous musical performances in history.
Despite all that, only one woman managed to win Lindsay Buckingham’s heart, and it’s not Stevie Nicks.

Image source: Google
Here, we’ll explore the life of Kristen Messner, Lindsay Buckingham’s wife for more than two decades.
A Brief Biography of Kristen Messner
Kristen Messner was born on the 28th of February, 1970, making her 54 years old at the time of writing. She’s 21 years younger than her husband, which means she was only two years old when Buckingham started dating Stevie Nicks.
Since Kristen Messner isn’t famous outside of her relationship with Buckingham, not much is known about her aside from her age and relationship.
We’re not sure about her early life or education since she keeps the details of her private life under wraps.
One girl who used to go to school with Messner once shared on her blog that Messner moved out to California after graduating to try her luck at acting. She supposedly landed a small role in a movie with Courtney Cox, but the movie wasn’t significant enough to leave a mark.

Image source: Google
The same girl also shared that Messner got married to Gale Hansen, but got divorced from him shortly after. After that, she became a photographer. She also practiced interior design for a while in Los Angeles.
Lindsay Buckingham and Kristen Messner: Age Gap and Former Lovers
Lindsay Buckingham and Kristen Messner met on a photo shoot in 1996, where Messner was practicing her passion for photography. They started dating shortly after meeting, and Messner got pregnant with their first child, William, in 1998.
Two years after William’s birth, the couple decided to make their relationship official and got married in 2000.
In the same year, they gave birth to their second daughter, Leelee, and in 2004, they had their last and youngest daughter, Stella. Lindsay once mentioned that he was grateful that he only had children when his career calmed down. He was 49 years old when he had his first child, which is relatively old.

Image source: Pagesix
According to Lindsay, having kids when he was old was better than having kids at the peak of his career, when he wouldn’t be able to give them the time they deserve.
Fleetwood Mac Drama
During the time Buckingham and Messner met, the guitarist had been taking a break from Fleetwood Mac since 1987 to focus on his solo career. It was also alleged that he left due to creative and personal tensions, which were expected since he was working with his ex in the same band.
In 1993, the band reunited to perform Don’t Stop at the inauguration of President Bill Clinton.
After that in 1997, Lindsay reunited with the band for The Dance, their best-selling live album. The album was followed by a reunion tour that scored huge success, and the album became a commercial hit.
From then on, the band was on and off.
Lindsay’s story with Fleetwood Mac came to an end in 2018 when he was fired from the band due to disagreements. He was replaced shortly after with Mike Campbell and Neil Finn.
After Buckingham got fired, Kristen Messner shared her feelings about it in a Rolling Stone story, stating that she was sad at what happened and that she considered the band members family.
Building Houses Together
Messner’s relationship with her husband was more than just a relationship. The couple built houses together, designing everything from scratch.
Their first building project was a 1920s Mediterranean Revival-style house in Downtown LA. After that, they custom-built a Brentwood house in 2007 and lived in it until 2019. After their children grew up and moved away, they downsized and moved from the house.

Image source: Google
Divorce .. Or Not?
Lindsay and Kristen’s relationship was seemingly going well, so it was an unpleasant surprise when Messner filed for divorce in 2021. The listed reason was irreconcilable differences, and no one knows any details beyond that.
The couple apparently split up, where Buckingham was staying in the Brentwood home and Messner was renting a house nearby. However, they decided to work on their marriage shortly after, and they didn’t finalize the divorce after all.
Final Thoughts
A 21-year age gap and a former lover/bandmate are challenges not everyone can deal with. However, Kristen Messner was more than ready to deal with anything as long as she got to marry Lindsay Buckingham.
As with any long-term relationship, Messner and Buckingham faced a few obstacles and even considered divorcing. However, they managed to overcome that and work on their marriage—looks like that’s going well so far.
Featured image source: Google