Ann Wilson Opens up About Her “Delicate Relationship” With Sister Nancy: “Sweeping Things Under the Rug Never Works”

Ann Wilson is getting candid about the relationship she has with her sister. During an appearance on the Lovett or Leave It podcast, the Heart singer shared how she and her sister, Nancy Wilson, work to have a successful personal and professional relationship.

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“She and I have a delicate relationship,” Ann said. “When she does something that makes me mad or I do something that makes her angry, there’s a way that we know how to deal with it now where we can actually talk it out like grown-ups.”

The sisters developed an early bond over music, with Ann noting, “Where most kids were outside playing with dolls or playing horses in the grass, we were upstairs playing guitars.”

“That just kind of grew and matured into standing up and playing guitars in front of people,” Ann said. “And then one thing led to another and it got to where it is.”

All the while, their ability to communicate effectively has gone through its ups and downs.

“[Sweeping things] under the rug never works,” Ann said. “[Tension] just builds. Gets more and more and more ugly.”

Nancy Wilson Discusses Sister Ann Wilson

In a 2025 interview with Oldster, Nancy spoke about how her and Ann’s relationship contributed to Heart’s success and longevity.

“Me and Ann have dealt with a lot of politics and money around ‘the legacy of Heart,’ but the true artistic center is our blood relationship, the calm eye of the hurricane,” Nancy said. “Everything else is just chaos sometimes, but the creative center is strong, peaceful, and magic.”

That magic continues to today, as Heart isn’t done yet. In fact, the band just wrapped their Royal Flush Tour in March. The trek came after Ann’s treatment for cancer, which made the shows “all the sweeter,” Nancy said.

“When you’re older, you’re smarter from all the experience, all the trial and error. You don’t waste your time spinning your wheels on the wrong stuff or the wrong people,” she said. “You get it wrong so much, and then you get it right.”

Photo by Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for The Recording Academy