OVER DUO: Nicole Walker and Lucas Horton
ROMANCE REPORT: Nicole, an ex-porn star from the wrong side of the tracks, arrived in Salem with big dreams for a better and richer future in 1998. She fell head over heels for Eric, who convinced his sister, Sami, to hire Nicole as a model for Bella magazine. The pretty blonde immediately caught the eye of Sami’s ex, Lucas, who began showering her with expensive gifts. When Nicole’s sister, Taylor, showed up in town and befriended Eric, Lucas used their relationship to drive a wedge between Nicole and Eric. Meanwhile, Kate, Lucas’s mother, realized that his best chance of getting custody of his son, Will, from Sami would be as a married man. So she made Nicole an offer she couldn’t refuse in 1999: tie the knot with Lucas and earn a cool $5 million. Nicole accepted the deal and married Lucas, leaving Eric devastated. An outraged Victor quickly concocted a plot to swindle the payout away from Nicole and succeeded. Down, out and facing a brief cancer scare, Nicole realized the error of her ways and decided to help Sami regain custody of Will. She shared a brief reunion with Eric and divorced Lucas.