Nicole Kruse-Miller

Nicole Kruse-Miller (née Miller) is a fictional character on the New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street who has been portrayed by Sally Martin since September 2009.

Creation and casting
Nicole was created as a love interest for established character Maia Jeffries (Anna Jullienne). Sally Martin had previously auditioned for 4 other roles before being offered the role of Nicole and was described as calling the portrayal of the same-sex relationship, "liberating". She was happy to be cast and enjoyed the relationship as, "It's something I haven't experienced in real life so it's fun to get stuck into it." However, in accepting the role, Martin had to cut her trademark long hair, something that she and her family, were uncomfortable with.[1] In 2011 producers permitted Martin to regrow her hair much to her excitement.[2]

Storylines
Nicole arrived to Shortland Street after winning a job in September 2009. Many suspected Nicole of being a sadistic stalker who was in love with Morgan Braithwaite (Bonnie Soper), however when Morgan confronted Nicole with the allegation, she was shocked to learn the two were in fact half sisters. After a long period of flirting, Nicole began to date her boss Maia Jeffries (Anna Jullienne) but they broke up following the revelation Maia was a murderer. Nicole was devastated when Morgan was struck by a car and killed and quickly leapt into a relationship with Maia. However the pressure caught Nicole and she fled Ferndale. Maia retrieved her several months later and the two resumed their relationship. In 2011 Nicole was disgusted to learn Maia had cheated on her with Jennifer (Sara Wiseman) and rebounded with Maxwell Avia (Robbie Magasiva). However Maxwell slept with Bethany Hall (Michelle Langstone) and Nicole struggled to forgive him. The two stayed together for several more months but things ended permanently in early 2012. Nicole fell in love with her friend Lana Jacobs (Brooke Williams) but before the two could consummate their relationship, Maia returned and Nicole got seriously injured in a helicopter crash. She survived however but ended things with Lana and Maia. Nicole became Director of Nursing and briefly dated Boyd Rolleston (Sam Bunkall) before falling in love with her best friend Vinnie (Pua Magasiva). However Vinnie left her and Nicole briefly rebounded with Bonnie Deane (Steph Cusick) before committing herself to a life of being single. This was short-lived however when she and Vinnie readmitted their love but she instead began to date Harper Whitley (Ria Vandervis). However her attraction to Vinnie proved too strong and the two rekindled and she fell pregnant. However shortly after the birth of their son Pele, in December 2014 Nicole suffered a brain bleed and after waking from a coma, suffered major problems with her mental fatigue. After concern she may be showing signs of schizophrenia, Nicole realised her love for her family and got engaged to Vinnie. Nicole recovered from this 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. In September, 2016 Nicole and Vinnie became joint owners of the IV Bar. Drew's younger brother Cam McCaskill, the Head Chef of the IV was caught buying drugs on the property much to the horror of Nicole and Vinnie.