Fleetwood Mac (1987)

Fleetwood Mac's 1987 firing of Lindsey Buckingham stands as rock's most dysfunctional split, fueled by years of romantic entanglements among five band members and rampant substance abuse. Despite selling 40 million copies of Rumours, the internal battles became unsustainable after Buckingham's increasingly erratic behavior derailed studio sessions for Tango in the Night. This breakup was messier than #9 Simon & Garfunkel's 1970 split because Fleetwood Mac's drama lasted over 30 years of on-again-off-again tours and legal fights over royalties. The band's 1998 induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame required a fragile truce, costing them $8 million in legal fees from 1987 to 1997, highlighting that personal ties can fracture even the most commercially successful acts.