In 2011 Nicole was disgusted to learn Maia had cheated on her with Jennifer (Sara Wiseman) and rebounded with Maxwell Avia (Robbie Magasiva).

Nicole became Director of Nursing and briefly dated Boyd Rolleston (Sam Bunkall) before falling in love with her best friend Vinnie (Pua Magasiva).

Nicole recovered from her brain injury and in March was back at work trying to hold the Nursing Department together due to severe staff shortages at the end of the financial year.

Drew's younger brother Cam McCaskil, the Head Chef of the IV was caught buying drugs on the property much to the horror of Nicole and Vinnie.

In late 2016 Nicole had an affair with new nurse Ruby Flores she felt guilty and soon enough confessed to Vinnie, after she then supports her mum after her new husband passes away after falling off boat on their honeymoon.

In May 2017, Nicole was stood down from her job because she had broken protocol under urgency to let Jack Hannah to help with a medical procedure well beyond their knowledge after the volcanic eruptions.

Due to their increasing financial issues, Nicole and Vinnie decided to sell the house to Harper Whitley and Drew McCaskill, where they had to pay for repairs of plumbing after Leanne withheld the information from them that there was a problem with the pipes.

On July 2, 2019, Nicole kissed her colleague Zara Mandal (Nivi Summer) after having a night with their friends, which also led them to having sex.

In December, she meets new Doctor Marty Walker, and she develops a crush on him, not realising his wife Lisa is dead, and in February 2020, she saves him from a blind date he did not like by kissing him.

Because the hospital apartments were sold, she had to live with Drew and Harper, which did not work out after Pele bit Billy, so she moved into a flat with Leanne.

She then proposed to Maeve and this led to them having the first on-screen gay wedding on the show on the 6th November 2020, [3] also making Wilder Mullens (Felix Jones) her step son.

Early in 2021, Nicole realised she was struggling with past events, such as the crash, and losing her daughter Kiri, and decided to seek help from a therapist.

Carla soon landed a job at the hospital as a counsellor and developed a strong bond with Nicole, manipulating her through her sessions into isolating herself from friends and family.

Maeve returns home to find Carla choking Nicole to try trigger a panic attack and assert control.

She apologised to Nicole and warned her against new doctor Vincent Hughes (Milo Cawthorne) who appeared to share history with Carla.

As 2022 progresses, Nicole continues to struggle with her mental health and relinquishes her Director of Nursing role to recent arrival Madonna Diaz after months of being undermined.

In an effort to fix her mental health, Nicole participated in a controversial Psilocybin blind study run by Chris Warner.

2023 begins with Maeve being held on remand for the murder of Wilder, Nicole left nursing, the hospital closed for renovations, and The IV unable to be repaired with the insurance unwilling to payout for the fire damage.

Leanne left Shortland Street for good in 2023 to travel the world with her partner, and Maeve’s mother, Ros Mullens (Theresa Healey).

Nicole takes unpaid leave from the hospital to provide palliative care for Leanne placing financial pressure on the family.

When the will is announced, Nicole finds out that unlike the rest of the family, Leanne had not left any money to her - further escalating their financial issues.

Nicole tried to manage her grief through the use of an online support group, venting about her martial issues and general distrust of Cassie.

By the time Maeve found them Louisa was unconscious with a fatal head wound and Nicole applying first aid, creating a who-done-it storyline for the rest of the year.

Returning home in time for Christmas, Nicole was determined to get her life back on track and remained adamant that Louisa’s death had been an accident.

Bay of Plenty Tourism general manager, Tim Burgess believed the show was establishing a "negative stereotype," and that the, "only positive thing I can say is they were pronouncing Tauranga and Mauao correctly."

[10] Matthew Denton of the University of Auckland student magazine, Craccum, named Nicole as the shows 6th most annoying character due to the storyline.