Wife of Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham files for divorce after 21 years

Kristen Messner is going her own way after 21 years of marriage to Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham.

Messner, an interior designer and photographer, filed for divorce in Los Angeles last week, court records revealed Tuesday.

Her petition cites the couple’s only remaining minor child, 17-year-old daughter Stella. Their son William, 22, and older daughter LeeLee would not be subject to any custody agreements.

Buckingham, 71, and Messner, 51, tied the knot in 2000 after they met when she photographed the rocker for one of his solo albums, according to Town & Country magazine.

“When we first met, it took Kristen a while to open up and feel safe with me,” Buckingham told English-language Middle East publication The National in 2011. “I just had to wait and have faith.”

That same year, he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal he felt fortunate to meet and settle down with Messner when he did.

“I had a lot of crazy girlfriends, and a lot of that was just an outgrowth of the lifestyle we were all leading,” he said.

“I did see a lot of friends who were parents and spouses — back in previous decades — who weren’t really there and kind of screwed up their kids, and were not there for their family situations,” he said. “So I waited, and I was lucky enough to meet someone relatively late.”

Attempts to reach spokespeople for the couple were not immediately successful Tuesday.

Buckingham was famously dating Stevie Nicks when the two musicians joined Fleetwood Mac together in 1975.

He and Nicks met while students at Menlo-Atherton High School in Atherton, Calif., and formed a folk-rock duo before going on to become the faces of Fleetwood Mac during the London-formed band’s most successful period.

The group’s 1977 album Rumors generated four U.S. Top 10 singles, including “Dreams” and “Go Your Own Way,” and became one of the best-selling albums of all time.

“Go Your Own Way” was actually Buckingham’s cathartic answer to the implosion of his relationship with Nicks, he told Song Exploder in 2018.

“Really, it was the beginning of my having a dialogue with Stevie, who had been my lover and musical partner,” he said of writing the iconic song.

“We were sort of on again, off again, on again, off again. But by the time we got to Rumors’ she had sort of split,” he explained.

“I sort of was coming to terms with the fact that I may not be over this person, but at same time, I’ve got to accept what’s happened and move on,” he said.

Buckingham went on to date actress Anne Heche and wrote the song “Down on Rodeo” about her, he told Stereo Gum.

Buckingham told The National that he later wrote “She Comes Down” for Messner.

Messner’s divorce petition surfaced the same day Buckingham announced the release of the first single off his upcoming self-titled album.

Titled “I Don’t Mind,” the single is the first taste of new music he described as something “I’ve been intending to get out for a couple of years now, but on more than one occasion, unforeseen circumstances necessitated a postponement of plans.”

“Now that we’re back in gear, I’m thrilled to finally be sharing new music with my listeners!” he tweeted.

The new album is due out Sept. 17.