Nick Newman had just returned from his posh European boarding school and Sharon Collins had just arrived in Genoa City with her single mom to start life anew. As high school seniors, they met and were immediately drawn to one another. However, Sharon was dating Matt Clark (Eddie Cibrian) at the time. When Sharon tried to break up with him, he and Nick brutally fought and Matt assaulted Sharon.
When Sharon and Nick were finally together, Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) thought her son had found someone only after his money. Eventually Sharon earned the respect of Nick’s father, Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), after she offered to pay back money Victor had lent her so her mother could have surgery.
The romance between Nick and Sharon really heated up, and they were only in their teens when they decided to get married. Nick respected Sharon’s wish to wait to have sex until their wedding night, according to Soaps in Depth, but he soon learned that Sharon had a baby she gave up when she was 16, before arriving in Genoa City. Sharon also had confessed that Matt had raped her and when Matt turned up dead, Nick was a suspect who was ultimately exonerated.
