Ironically, Nicholas was conceived when his own parents' marriage was on shaky ground. Victor and Nikki divorced soon after Nicholas came into their lives and the young man spent part of his childhood with Jack Abbott as a stepfather. It didn't take Nicholas (aka "Nick") long to get into trouble after he returned from a Swiss boarding school when he was 16 years old. After a brief fling with Amy Wilson, Nick turned his attentions to Sharon Collins, a young girl from the poor side of town. Star-crossed lovers Nicholas and Sharon battled many obstacles in order to become husband and wife, including Sharon's rape, Nick's wrongful incarceration for shooting Matt Clark, and Nikki's disapproval of Sharon. The young married duo eventually welcomed the miraculous birth of their premature son, Noah, and accepted Cassie, Sharon's illegitimate daughter from a high school relationship, into their lives.

Nick and Sharon endured numerous threats to the marriage: Grace Turner's obsession with the married Nick, a custody battle over Cassie with Alice Johnson (who was Cassie's legal mother), the return of a vengeful Matt Clark, the loss of an unborn child and Sharon's affair with Diego Guittierez. Alas, Nick found it much more difficult to forgive Sharon when he caught her locking lips with his Victor. This promoted Nick to seek revenge against his dad. He saw his opportunity when Victor sabotaged rival Jabot Cosmetics in their makeup wars and turned his own father into federal agents for illegal business practices.

While Nick had conquered many schemers and threats in his life, nothing prepared him to battle sociopath Cameron Kirsten, a man who wanted to systematically destroy Sharon's life. After a battle on board Cameron's private jet, Nick and Sharon emerged victorious. Next, Nick and Sharon began working together at Newman Enterprises. They suffered the greatest loss imaginable when their daughter Cassie died after sustaining injuries in a car wreck. After much soul searching, Nick and Sharon were forced to confront the fact that Cassie – not Daniel Romalotti – was behind the wheel on that fateful night.

The loss of Cassie has been so great that Nick has sought solace outside of his marriage to Sharon. Unlike his affair with Grace, which was mostly physical, Nick developed genuine feelings for Phyllis. After Sharon discovered his affair, Nick made the decision to fight for his marriage. However, when Phyllis learned she was pregnant, his relationship with Sharon fell apart, and he is now embarking on a new life with Phyllis and their baby, and Nick decided to embark on a new life with Phyllis and their baby girl Summer.

Their road to happiness has been quite bumpy. First, Nick almost died in a plane crash. He survived but suffered memory loss. In fact, he didn't remember his relationship with Phyllis at all. Nick thought he was still married to Sharon and that Cassie was still alive. In the midst of all this turmoil, Phyllis stood trial for blackmailing Brad over his affair with Sharon. Nick, seeing Phyllis with Summer, began to remember his feelings for her and supported her throughout the trial. Phyllis was sentenced to several years in prison. Next, Nick, Noah, Jack, Sharon and Victoria were trapped in a parking garage collapse. All survived but Nick's sister Victoria and her unborn child's life hung in balance. The family had to decide which life is more possible to save, trying to keep Victoria's feelings on the matter in mind. Nick's parents, Victor and Nikki, did not handle the crisis well. Victor's company may be the reason for the accident. Nikki has grown tired of Victor's coldness and found solace in the arms of David Chow. Victoria eventually woke from her coma, her baby son was born. J.T. and Victoria named him Reed. Phyllis was released from prison.

Nick and Phyllis grew close again. When his father continued to push him away, Nick decided to start his own business. Ironically, Nick turned to Jack and Sharon and started a magazine called Restless Style. The foursome were constantly at odds due to Jack's manipulations and eventually broke up the partnership with Phyllis and Nick keeping the magazine afloat. Meanwhile, Victor married Victoria's best friend Sabrina causing a rift between the father and his children. But after her untimely death, they found their way back to some semblance of a family life. Nick supported his mother over the loss of her husband David Chow, who turned out to be the cause of Sabrina's death. Nick also took off to Paris, France, to find his father who was in the deep throes of grief. Nick met up with Sharon, who was in France because Noah was on a field trip there, and they shared a kiss witness by Phyllis.

Everyone returned to Genoa City but Phyllis could not forget that kiss. She began working overtime to save her marriage. When Sharon split from Jack, Phyllis sent Brad off to find Sharon. Brad was still in love with her and hoped her separation would mean they could finally be together. He found her at the Abbott cabin and Sharon turned him away. As he was returning to town, he heard cries for help and found Noah, who had fallen in the icy lake. Noah was rescued and remembered Brad had saved him. Meanwhile, Nick ran off to find Sharon and tell her the news and they made love. When they were reunited with Noah in the hospital, Phyllis sensed that they had been intimate. Is his marriage over? Will he and Sharon reunite?