1987: Nico Kelly was raised in a dark world of scam deals, drugs, and prostitution. He only ever had his uncle, Creed Kelly, to relay on. His loyalty to Creed was challenged when he unveiled his plot or revenge against former lover Elizabeth Carlyle. Creed seduced her daughter, Julie Chandler. One night, he planned to rape Julie in front of Elizabeth. Nico could not stand ideally by as Creed executed his plan. He escaped with the women and lead them back to Pine Valley. When the authorities could no find Creed, they took Nico into custody.

1988: With Julie’s help, Nico was put on probation. Nico became the third wheel in her relationship with Charlie. Nico and Julie realized their feelings had become about more than friendship. When Charlie left for Stanford, they began to date.
Julie’s wanted to escape her home life. Her mother, Ellen Shepherd, had just remarried Julie’s biological father, Mark Dalton. Julie and Nico ran away together. So that no one could make Julie go home, they eloped. Both were content with their young married life. They would later learn their marriage was not valid.

1989: Julie suffered a miscarriage. As a result, Nico and Julie’s marriage fell apart. She decided she needed to start her life fresh and left for Washington.
Down and out, Cecily Davidson asked Nico for a favor. She needed access to her trust fund so that she could sever ties from her mother for once and for all. All she needed to do was to get married. She offered half of her fortune to Nico if he agreed. Not seeing a downside to the situation, Nico hastily eloped with Cecily.
The marriage proved to be more difficult than Nico had anticipated. Cecily and Nico clashed about everything. Then, Cecily learned they needed to be married for six months to claim the money. Neither thought they were going to make it through.
Tad Martin enlisted Nico and Cecily’s help to free Dixie Chandler from Laurel Hill. Adam Chandler had been gas lighting the young mother so as to be able to claim full custody of their son. The four went on the run until they could prove Adam’s guilt. Somewhere along the adventure, something changed between Nico and Cecily. They were now in love.
Nico surprised Cecily with a real proposal after their first six months. They went to Hawaii to have a real wedding. The Kellys decided to start their new lives away from Pine Valley.