Nicole, who grew up in the Southern Command in Zamboanga City, was invited to Subic Bay by a friend, US Navy Petty Officer Christopher Mills, together with her stepsister, Anna Liza. Mills was a family friend whom they met in Zamboanga, where joint US-Philippine military exercises had been held over the years. Nicole's family operated a canteen which was frequented by soldiers. Nicole, a management accounting graduate, managed the said canteen and in the process befriended military personnel, including Mills and her boyfriend, Brian Goodrich of the 12th Marines Operations Platoon which is based in Okinawa.