nDriven to take over
DiMera Enterprises, Kristen
(masquerading as Nicole)
and Gabi plot to marry Tony
and Stefan, respectively.
Nicole arrives at Tony’s
apartment, takes off her
mask and reveals she’s real-
ly Kristen. She begs Tony
to come back to Salem and
marry “Nicole,” so she can
take over DiMera.
“Of course, she has
her own selfish reasons;
it’s a means to an end for
her,” says Arianne Zucker
(“Nicole”). “But she con-
vinces Tony that they
have to do this for their
family, their legacy. This
girl [Gabi] is just a child
and shouldn’t be running
DiMera. If anybody is
going to take over the com-
pany, it’s going to be her.”
Although Tony is hesi-
tant, because he loves Anna
and wants to return to her,
he agrees. With that taken
care of, “Nicole” begins
putting her plan into action
and brings Brady into the
mix, knowing he wants to
bring down Stefan.
“She’s trying to get
in Brady’s good graces,”
notes Zucker. “If she can
get control of DiMera, they
can do whatever they want.
This is about proving a lot
of things and, at the end
of the day, showing Brady
how sexy she is by taking
over this business and how
good she can be at it.”
“Nicole” calls Brady
over, and pretends she
suddenly remembers who
rescued her from the ware-
house fire: It was either
Andre or Tony. The pair
head to Chicago to “find”
Tony and “persuade” him
to marry Nicole, with
Brady unaware that the plot
was already set in motion.
Back in Salem, Gabi
suggests getting married
to Stefan, so they can take
over DiMera together,
and he eventually agrees.
But on their wedding day,
Abe arrives with news that
Nicole might be getting
married today, too, and they
wonder what she’s up to.
Newlyweds “Nicole” and
Tony return to Salem and
come across Eric, who’s
stunned to learn about their
wedding. “It’s mentioned
vaguely and really more
about crushing Eric ... get-
ting him out of the picture,”
says Zucker. When Brady
joins the trio and Eric learns
he was Nicole and Tony’s
witness, he attacks his
brother for letting Nicole do
this. “Brady, being the good
guy, doesn’t really fight
back,” recounts Zucker.
“ ‘Nicole’ is worried, but
Tony warns her to be careful
about showing her feelings
for Brady. She’s married to
him, now.”
Meanwhile, Gabi and
Stefan reveal their marriage
to DiMera board member
Shin. They lobby for Gabi
to get the company’s CEO
job, since she’s the only
qualified person and is now
Mrs. DiMera. However,
“Nicole” disrupts things
when she arrives and claims
she’s Mrs. DiMera, too.
XJ JOHNSON/JPI
TWO WEDDINGS ON DAYS
late-breaking news
The Newlywed Game: Gabi (Camila Banus, l.) marries
Stefan (Brandon Barash, c.) while “Nicole” (Zucker)
weds Tony (Thaao Penghlis, r.) to get Mr. Shin (Michael
Hagiwara) to make one of the brides CEO of DiMera.