In April 2016, it was announced Sveen had left Home and Away after three years to pursue new acting roles, and she made her screen exit on 7 June 2016.

Ricky was introduced as the younger sister of Adam Sharpe (Martin Lynes) and a love interest for Darryl "Brax" Braxton (Steve Peacocke).

In the 30 March – 5 April 2013 edition of TV Week, Erin Miller reported that actress Bonnie Sveen had been cast as Ricky Sharpe, a potential love interest for established character Darryl Braxton (Steve Peacocke).

[6]In her fictional backstory, Ricky was surround by criminal activity due to her elder brother Adam Sharpe (Martin Lynes).

[7] Sveen said she was very similar to Ricky and stated, "We have the Huon River at home in Tasmania, so I guess I'm a bit of a 'River Girl' in real life!

"[2] Ricky and Darryl Braxton (Steve Peacocke) spent the party getting reacquainted and Brax expressed his sorrow about Adam's death.

[2] Sveen confirmed that Ricky was hiding a big secret, which made her cautious about starting a relationship with Brax, so she tried to keep him "at arm's length".

Adam told Ricky that the Braxtons were "the scum of the earth" for leaving him to die, but she started to have doubts about his story as she had come to realise who the family really were.

"[11] With Ricky's help, Adam framed Casey Braxton (Lincoln Younes) for armed robbery leading to his arrest.

[12] When she threatened to tell Brax the truth, Adam ordered Ricky to be held hostage alongside Tamara Kingsley (Kelly Paterniti), Casey's girlfriend.

[16] Sveen admitted that she felt some pressure being cast as a love interest for Brax, following his popular relationship with Charlie Buckton (Esther Anderson).

[4] Having forgiven Ricky for her part in Adam's revenge scheme, Brax asked her to move in with him, causing a rift in the family.

[17] Sveen told Gavin Scott from TV Week that Ricky was "still in disbelief" that Brax's love for her had over ridden everything that had happened.

[23] Sveen told Rebecca Lake of TV Week that while Ricky thought Brax's gesture in London was romantic, he also sabotaged the biggest opportunity of her life.

"[26] Sveen added that it would be "disturbing" to see Brax reappear in the Bay again, but believed that Ricky would want him to help her raise their son.

[28] During a Yahoo7 feature on Ricky's love triangle, Sveen admitted that she felt "very challenged" by the scripts for her character's new romance with Nate.

"[29] Sveen thought Nate had opened up a new world for Ricky and he was allowing her a chance to reinvent herself, as well as reigniting her passion for photography.

[27] When Ricky learned that Nate had secured her a photography job in London, she immediately sought out Brax to tell him the news first.

[32] Ricky felt unable to tell Brax the news and she confided in Phoebe Nicholson (Isabella Giovinazzo), who urged her to be happy about the development before she worries about anyone else.

"[31] Sveen carried out research at the Royal Hospital for Women and spoke to a midwife about how Ricky's behaviour would be affected by the various stages of pregnancy.

[34] She also said that Ricky was terrified without Brax and added, "she needs to manage everything and she doesn't like to lose that sense of control – she's been a bit of a matriarch and she finds it difficult to lean on other people.

Sveen explained that Ricky was excited by the event and tried to remain upbeat during the meeting, knowing that Brax would have to go back to a lonely prison cell at the end.

When Marilyn Chambers (Emily Symons) offered to look after Casey for the evening, Ricky took the opportunity to skip town to grieve for Brax on her own.

[37] At Zac MacGuire (Charlie Clausen) and Leah Patterson-Baker's (Ada Nicodemou) wedding reception, Nate proposes to Ricky.

Ricky helps organise a trip to the city to support Phoebe Nicholson's (Isabella Giovinazzo) record launch.

Nate fakes a medical emergency for Ricky, so she can see Brax and warn him that fellow prisoner Trevor "Gunno" Gunson (Diarmid Heidenreich) is after him.

However, Kat breaks the news that Brax is presumed dead, after the car transferring him to a new prison had been run off the road into a river.

[33] A contributor to the Inside Soap Yearbook proclaimed that Ricky "was the luckiest girl in Australia when she bagged hunky doctor Nate.

"[53] In November 2021, three critics for The West Australian placed Ricky at number 39 in their feature on the "Top 50 heroes we love and villains we hate" from Home and Away.

Their relationship wasn't without its problems — from his incarceration to a miscarriage, her short-lived marriage to Cooper (Kyle Pryor) and the birth of her and Brax's son.