The journey from having the band as two couples that went on the road and performed together to going back to single life and taking over the reins as the two female musicians and reclaiming Heart as their own was no small feat. It did require a lot of courage and trust in one another for Ann and Nancy Wilson to overcome not only back in 1979 but also later in life.
The whirlwind in the 70s started with Ann having a relationship with Heart’s manager Michael Fisher, while Nancy was with his younger brother and guitarist, Roger Fisher. Everything was going seemingly well when Nancy broke up with Roger, and not long after, Ann also broke her nine-year relationship with Michael after she learned that he had fallen in love with somebody else.
Before they knew it, the sisters shared with People in 1980 that they cut all ties with the brothers to take on the challenge of taking back Heart as their own and standing on their own two feet and figuring out their next move for the band.
Ann Wilson’s words about taking over Heart read:
“Suddenly we had to stand up on our own. We had to see if we could make it as single women after depending on men for so long.”
That was when the sisters launched a 77-city tour after releasing their feminist LP, ‘Bebe Le Strange.’ It was a period of liberation, and they were set free of the weight that was on them for many years, and with the new album and the tour, it was a resurgence of their power as women in the industry.
As years passed, the sisters had several relationships that eventually led Nancy to marry journalist Cameron Crowe in 1986 and have twin sons via surrogate. Their marriage ended in 2010 after having irreconcilable differences. Nancy met and eventually married Geoff Bywater, who worked in music production for TV shows in 2012.
When it came to Ann, she decided to adopt her daughter and son and not get married until she said yes to Dean Wetter, whom she had briefly dated in the 80s. However, that was the beginning of bad news for the sisters as Wetter was arrested the following year for assaulting Nancy’s 16-year-old twin sons after the boys had left the door to his RV open.
This incident obviously haltered the Wilson sisters’ relationship after Wetter pleaded guilty to the charges. After wrapping up Heart’s 2016 tour, the sisters decided to tour with their side-project bands to give each other space and time to heal from what had happened. Soon after, Ann also announced that Heart was on hiatus.
After several years apart, the sisters decided to return to stages together when they announced their ‘Love Alive’ summer tour and even added a fall leg in 2019. However, to get to the point of having a reunion tour was challenging as they had to work through the events that had taken place. The sisters discussed the reunion tour and the hiatus with Rolling Stone in 2019.
Nancy Wilson’s words about the temporary hiatus read:
“I could see it was time for Heart to have a break. We’d been slogging through tour after tour fairly nonstop and were starting to burn out a little bit. Things had just reached a heavy climax. Working with my other new band Roadcase Royale was a lifesaver. Writing brand new songs, playing shows, and delivering a new album with them was the medicine my soul needed.”
Ann Wilson’s words about the tour read:
“Both Nancy and I have stretched our wings in life these last three years. We’ve both lived and loved. We have breathed and traveled and experienced life. We come to this tour with fresh energy and oxygen.”
Since their extended ‘Love Alive’ tour to October 2019, the sisters have yet to announce a new project or a tour. The few years with Covid and everything else that has happened have disrupted many of the artists’ plans. They may be waiting for the right moment to return to scenes near you with a new setlist and fierce guest appearances.
