In the following years, the couple dealt with the return of Matt Clark and infidelity on both sides among other obstacles, which Nick and Sharon managed to eventually move past.

"[8] Eighteen-year-old Nicholas "Nick" Newman, son of the rich business tycoon Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) and his ex-wife Nikki Abbott (Melody Thomas Scott), met Sharon Collins, a student from modest means who recently relocated from Madison, Wisconsin to Genoa City.

Matt investigated Sharon's past and found out her deepest secret which she was keeping from Nick; she lost her virginity to her high-school boyfriend from Madison, Frank Barritt (Phil Dozois), which resulted in a pregnancy.

Victor hired Paul Williams (Doug Davidson) and a range of attorneys to free Nick, who had to go to trial for attempted murder.

During this period, Nick hired Sharon's best friend from Madison Grace Turner (Josie Davis) to work at his father's company Newman Enterprises.

Having undergone severe cosmetic surgery, Matt Clark (now played by Rick Hearst) returned to Genoa City under the fake identity 'Carter Mills' and began working at the coffeehouse where he schemed with Larry Warton (David "Shark" Fralick) to frame Nick for selling drugs.

[24] His plan to have Nick thrown in jail worked, and he lured Sharon to an isolated cabin where he nearly raped her until help showed up and he ran.

They argued, causing Sharon to fall and give birth to a stillborn baby-girl which was later confirmed through DNA testing to be, in fact, Nick's child.

During this time, Sharon Case was absent for months due to lengthy contract negotiations which left her fate on the show in question.

[27] Instead of having the character depart fully or be killed off, executive producer at the time David Shaughnessy chose to have her leave town.

In 2005, 14-year-old Cassie was killed in a car accident after attempting to drive drunken Daniel Romalotti (Michael Graziadei) home.

[32][33] After her divorce from Nick and his marriage to Phyllis, Sharon moved on by marrying a rival to the Newman family, Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman).

Additionally, she felt that Sharon had "lost her identity" after divorcing Nick and Cassie's death, and found a new one in her marriage to Jack.

After becoming trapped in the cabin during a blizzard, Nick found a letter Sharon wrote to him (but didn't intend to show him) which professed her undying love for him.

[41] Also weighing in on the reunion, Morrow told TV Guide: "The fans have wanted this for a long time [...] it is going to be a very messy journey getting these two back together as a solid couple, but I am sure it will happen.

Nick left Sharon after she cheated, and she began to devote her time to get charges against Adam for the murder of his ex-wife Skye Lockhart (Laura Stone).

Sharon is arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder; she later skips town and poses under the identity 'Sheri Coleman' for months in New Mexico.

When Summer became involved with Jack's son Kyle Abbott (Hartley Sawyer)—her possible half brother—Nick conducted another paternity DNA test.

Sharon learned of this, and switched the results, to make everyone believe Nick wasn't Summer's father, so that she could comfort and win him back.

"[54] Sharon then began plotting to win her "high school sweetheart" back from his fiancé, Phyllis's sister Avery Bailey Clark (Jessica Collins), to no avail.

[55] It was revealed that Sharon was neglecting her bipolar disorder medication the whole time and eventually got her health back on track, but continued to debate whether or not she should tell Nick about Summer's true paternity.

A vengeful Victor hired a Cassie lookalike, Mariah Copeland (Camryn Grimes), to gaslight/haunt Sharon, so that Nick will question her sanity once more.

[56] To stop having these "visions", Sharon undergoes electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), which causes her to experience missing gaps in her memories, and she forgets changing Summer's DNA results.

Later that month, a special Nick and Sharon episode aired, where twenty of the show's characters ended up arrested altogether after the couple's Bachelor/Bachelorette party.

[46] On a list of "Greatest Soap Opera Supercouples" compiled by Kim Potts of The Huffington Post, Nick and Sharon were placed 16th.

[33] Jamaica Gleaner was enthralled by the twists and turns of the love triangle and published an interview with Michelle Stafford; the newspaper asked whether Nick would end his ten-year marriage to Sharon and rather enter into an official romance with her pregnant character Phyllis.

TV, regarded Sharon as having "always been" Nick's damsel in distress, noting that his "undeniable love" led to the end of his marriage to Phyllis.

"[75] In September 2012, when Morrow stated on The Talk that he believed Nick and Sharon were "endgame", Jamey Giddens of the website Zap2it wrote: "This revelation caused fans of the "Shick" pairing to rejoice, while "Phick" lovers have been storming social media sites in anger.

"[77] Additionally, the Soap Opera Network magazine noted a "sudden boom" in ratings in the episodes surrounding their reunion, which was also attributed to other subplots.

[77] Michael Fairman of On-Air On-Soaps said, "Many fans were overjoyed that Nick and Sharon finally reconnected and made love in the cabin.