People.com
By K.C. BAKER
03/27/2014 at 09:00 AM EDT

It’s a Fleetwood Mac lovefest!

After leaving one of the most successful rock bands of all time 16 years ago, Christine McVie is back – and her band mates couldn’t be happier.

“We’re thrilled,” the band’s co-founder and drummer, Mick Fleetwood, tells PEOPLE exclusively. “She’s just the dearest of friends and we’ve remained that way always. We’ve always missed Chris. To have a key, key member return to the fold is huge. It’s really not happened, to my knowledge in any shape or form, on this level.”

McVie, 70, whose songs “Little Lies” and “Say You Love Me” were among Fleetwood Mac’s biggest hits, tells PEOPLE exclusively, “I honestly could never in my wildest dreams have thought I could return to the band. It’s just a dream come true. I go to bed going, ‘This is so great. This is what I’ve been yearning for all these years and I didn’t know it.’ We’re family. We’re very lucky.”

All five members of the band reunited this morning when McVie, along with her ex-husband, John McVie (who is “on the mend” after a cancer diagnosis last year, she says), Fleetwood, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks appeared on Today to officially announce the return of the keyboardist and singer/songwriter. Continue reading Christine McVie Returns to Fleetwood Mac After a Long Hiatus | People →