After a little more than three years on screen, Nikau Parata left Summer Bay on tonight’s episode of Home and Away in Australia as he and Bella headed to New York.
When Nikau (Kawakawa Fox-Reo) and his mother Gemma (Bree Peters) initially relocated to Summer Bay in January 2020, we got to know him (Rob Kipa-Williams). The family was intending on maintaining a low profile because Ari had just been released from prison and because Nik’s father, Mikaere, had passed away some six months previously.
It’s fair to say that during their time in Summer Bay, the Paratas did not exactly maintain a low profile. After the departures of Gemma, Ari, and subsequent arrivals Mia and Chloe Anderson, Tane is now the last remaining Parata, three years after Nikau’s departure.
In recent episodes, Nikau’s ex-girlfriend Bella (Courtney Miller) paid Dean (Patrick O’Connor) and Ziggy’s (Sophie Dillman) infant Izzy Astoni-Thompson a quick visit back in Summer Bay.
Bella first informed Dean that she didn’t care if she ran into Nikau, but after the two ran into each other at Salt, Bella became curious as to why he had ended their relationship so suddenly the year before.
Tane and Nikau realised their loved ones were in danger when the Death Adder bikie gang showed up in town with the intention of exacting retribution for a robbery Ari had committed a decade previously. Nikau attempted to deter Bella from going back to Summer Bay by breaking up with her in an emotional video chat and telling her that she had nothing left for her there.
When Bella discovered the truth, she was surprised, but she also realised why Nikau acted in the way he did. She questioned why Nikau didn’t tell her the truth after learning that the bikies had been apprehended and that she would be able to return home safely.
Bella had only been back in the bay for a short while, but it was already apparent that they were still in love.
The young pair struggled with their emotions as they prepared to say goodbye once more in tonight’s triple-bill of Australian episodes since Bella had to return to New York for work.
Nikau pretended that the two were just friends while John (Shane Withington) told him that he would be dropping Bella off at the airport later before going to see Jett in the city.
Yet as the show went on, it became obvious that this was far from the case.
Bella offered Nikau some old pictures of him and his family that she had taken; though it was supposed to be a lovely gesture, Nikau took it to suggest that Bella no longer wanted the pictures and was trying to end their relationship.
Bella was actually having trouble with the concept of saying goodbye as well.
She declined Irene’s (Lynne McGranger) suggestion of a sizable farewell supper since she didn’t want Nikau to be present for an emotional send-off. She instead had a little farewell celebration at the diner with Irene and Marilyn (Emily Symons).
John abruptly told Bella that Nikau had noticed that she was plainly unwilling to say goodbye to him and that she wished to put their relationship in the past.
Bella then hurried to the Parata home, where she called Nikau an idiot and stated that he was completely mistaken. The thought of them parting ways again got even harder after they kissed and decided to spend the night together.
The next morning, Nikau made a permanent move to New York with Bella his wish.
What about all those excuses you gave the first time around? “Family, your career, the bay?” she questioned. But it was obvious that this time, those wouldn’t go in the way of him – as long as Tane was cool with it.
Sadly, Tane’s attention was elsewhere because he was still preoccupied with his recent separation with Felicity (Jaqui Purvis). Tane advised Nikau not to waste his life and career “for some lady,” and that coming to New York was a bad decision when Nikau finally managed to get some time alone with him.
Nikau was so compelled to inform Bella that he wouldn’t be travelling with her to the United States.
Tane eventually gave Nikau his blessing, handed him his passport, and instructed him to go be with Bella. Thankfully, more intervention from John soon made Tane see that his judgement was being warped by his recent separation.
You’ve been given a second chance, so pay attention. Avoid losing it. You belong with Bella, so I’ll be alright.
Bella, on the other hand, was preoccupied at the time with saying farewell to Irene, Dean, and Ziggy before boarding John’s car to travel to the airport and begin her new life in New York by herself.
Fortunately, Tane and Nikau were close behind them.
Nikau took one more look around the Parata home before hopping in Tane’s car and driving out of town, where they soon caught up with John and Bella.
Once more together, they climbed into John’s car and prepared to start their new lives as a couple.
It’s been rumoured for a while that Nikau will leave Home and Away, and it’s long been thought that Bella’s homecoming would mean the end of his stay in Summer Bay.
Kawakawa Fox-Reo left for Los Angeles shortly after Courtney Miller was sighted returning to the set last year. She then posted a major hair change on Instagram, which is frequently a hint that an actor is out of contract.
We reflect on Nikau Parata’s time in Summer Bay as we bid him farewell.
After Nikau and his mother Gemma (Bree Peters) relocated to Summer Bay, we first met him in January 2020. (Rob Kipa-Williams). The family was intending on maintaining a low profile because Ari had just been released from jail after serving a 10-stretch for a prior heist and because Nik’s father, Mikaere, had passed away about six months previously after being wounded by police after an unsuccessful armed robbery.
When Nik felt Ari was attempting to replace Mikaere in the family by assuming the position of patriarch, their relationship was initially tense.
He initially appeared as Ryder (Lukas Radovich) and Jade (Mia Morrissey) were bickering, and he intervened to defend Jade because he thought Ryder was the aggressor. Unknown to him, Ryder had been wrongly accused by Jade of recording and posting a video of their most recent sexual session. As Ryder attempted to explain that Jade was a problem, Nik punched him.
When Nik started dating Jade, he soon realised that she wasn’t who she seemed to be. He told Jade about his concerns, and she tried to record him as she was seducing him on her phone. Nik called Ryder and gave him the information he needed to clear his name, and the two men grew close.
Ari was out of work due to an accident, which made things difficult for the family. On the day of the siege, his injury had sent him to Northern Districts Hospital, where he had been held captive with Marilyn (Emily Symons).
To the chagrin of her husband John (Shane Withington), who Nik and Ari had already offended by using the surf club facilities while sleeping in their car, Marilyn provided the Paratas with a roof over their heads after they were kicked out of their motel for failing to pay the rent.
Ari moved to a caravan and quickly acquired John as a neighbour, but Nik and Gemma remained in the Palmer home, and Nik was able to secure part-time employment with Roo (Georgie Parker) at the bait shop.
Bella and Nik became friends, and she was appreciative of his advise to forgo taking her HSC in favour of enrolling in a TAFE photography course so she could pursue her passion.
Ryder revealed Bella’s recent encounter with Tommy O’Reilly (Adam Sollis), who had groomed her online before attempting to sexually attack her, and cautioned Nik against getting too close to Bella. As a result, Nik initially avoided Bella, but after an altercation with Gemma and Ari, Bella decided to go to the city with him to meet up with his other uncle Tane (Ethan Browne).
Bella and Nik eventually shared their first kiss and started dating after she uncomfortably told him she liked him by shouting it at him.
Bella invited Nik to the apartment because she insisted that she was ready to spend the night with him. But, as Nik was lying on top of Bella, she had a panic attack. Bella, upset, shut herself in her room and cut herself after screaming at Nik to leave.
Nik thought about leaving town after Ryder accused him of pushing Bella too far, but Gemma talked him out of it and persuaded him to go to the hospital. Nik was relieved when Bella’s brother Colby (Tim Franklin) absolved him of any responsibility and allowed him to briefly meet Bella before she was taken to a facility for equestrian therapy.
Tane accompanied Nik back to the bay and ultimately decided to rent a house for the entire family after additional tensions with Ari caused Nik to flee to Tane in the city once more.
The Paratas hosted a hangi for their new neighbours to mark the occasion of Ari resolving their conflict with Tane and moving in with them. However, Nik and Gemma were at odds since she started hanging out with Ben Astoni (Rohan Nichol) during his temporary separation from wife Maggie (Kestie Morassi).
Nik’s mood continued to deteriorate when Bella indicated he wasn’t in the right frame of mind for a relationship after she got back from treatment, and he started to snap at those around him.
Colby looked directly at the Paratas when Leah (Ada Nicodemou) interrupted a burglar who had broken into the restaurant. Despite being innocent (no, really, we looked into it! ), Nik freaked out when he learned he and his uncles would be required to participate in an identity parade.
Tori (Penny McNamee), who had raced to help John after he had fallen over and left the keys inside, was targeted by a frantic Nik who was trying to flee Summer Bay and stole her car.
When Nik subsequently realised with horror that Grace, a baby, was in the back car, he called Tane, who came to his aid. No one was the wiser when they abandoned the automobile and brought Grace back to the Morgans’ porch, despite Colby once more blaming Nik.
The entire family learned that Colby had blocked Ari, Nik, and Tane’s passports when they planned to travel to New Zealand to return Mikaere’s ashes on the first anniversary of his passing.
Gemma was compelled to go alone because she had already cleared security, and she ultimately made the decision to return to New Zealand. The men performed a haka on the beach to commemorate Mikaere’s passing in their own unique style.
Once they were reunited, Nik stood by Bella when she learned that her father Ross’s (Justin Rosniak) death had been discovered in a shallow grave.
Bella was terrified of making a mistake when it came time to deliver her testimony to Detective Angelo Rosetta after she confessed to Nik that Colby had killed Ross, something she had known for some time (Luke Jacobz).
With money Tane had stashed away, Nik purchased some plane tickets and he and Bella fled to Mount Currawong.
Nik and Bella spent their first night together while travelling across the area in an outdated ute.
As the ute broke down, Nik raced for help and came across Ari, Tane, and Mackenzie (Emily Weir), who had come looking for them. Bella had vanished upon returning to the car, but a text from Nik persuaded her to visit the bay a few days later just in time to prevent an arrest warrant from being issued.
The fact that drug dealers were now posing a threat to the family when Gemma requested Nik to join her in New Zealand played a significant role in his decision to leave and ask Bella to accompany him.
When Bella agreed—angry with her brother for having an extramarital relationship with Taylor, Angelo’s wife (Annabelle Stephenson), to learn more about the case—Colby threatened to take away Nik’s travel privileges once more.
Colby was forced to back down when Nik revealed that he knew the truth about Ross’s passing, but the plan was shelved when Colby was detained on suspicion of murder.
As the family began to get more threats from the drug traffickers, Nik was persuaded to go to New Zealand alone while still communicating with Bella via video conversations. Nik ran across Chloe Anderson (Sam Barrett), an old friend who had grown up with Ari as a father figure until his incarceration, while they were both travelling. Chloe’s mother Mia (Anna Samson), who had come to visit Ari, soon joined him in bringing Chloe back to the bay.
Bella and Nik had disagreements because of Chloe’s continual presence, and Chloe’s awkward encounter with Ryder added to the tension.
The four were abducted by the drug traffickers who Ari and Tane had made enemies with while Nik and Bella invited Chloe and Ryder out clubbing and made them spend the night in a shipping container.
Ryder and Chloe’s continued desire to hang out as a quartet eventually grew tiring to Nik and Bella, who scheduled a weekend getaway to get away from them. Ryder was astonished to later learn that Chloe and Ryder had begun a secret romance. Ryder and Chloe played practical jokes on one another when they accompanied the two to the remote cottage.
Nik eventually caught the eye of modelling agent Sienna Blake after a picture Bella had unknowingly taken of him won an award (Rose Riley).
When Bella was offered an opportunity to apprentice with photographer Emmett Ellison by Sienna, he changed his mind about signing up for her books (JR Reyne).
Model Allegra Freeman (Laura McDonald) was soon Nik’s shooting partner, and both he and Bella were shocked when Allegra unexpectedly kissed him during a shoot. Nik made a threat to resign, but Sienna countered that Bella would also have to go if he did.
Using Nik’s deception that Bella had cheated on him with Emmett, Sienna devised a plan to remove Bella from the picture. Nik was then lured into bed by Sienna, and although he realised he had been duped, Sienna used blackmail to force him to consent to a shoot in Japan.
Finally, Nik told Bella everything, and she immediately ended their relationship. He also informed Sienna he was done modelling and wouldn’t be travelling abroad. She eventually let him go without pay, despite her early efforts to keep him bound by his contract.
In an effort to win Bella back, Nikau crashed a joint exhibition she and Emmett were hosting in the city and humiliated her by proclaiming his love into the microphone. Nik left after a second refusal and arrived in a little rural village. As there was no other place to stay, Nik called Mia, who sent Dean (Patrick O’Connor) to pick him up. Dean, however, crashed the car when they were returning to the bay after swerving to miss a kangaroo.
Nik was thrown from the vehicle as it slid down a bank and came to a rest at the cliff’s brink. Despite being seriously hurt, Nik was able to return to the road and call for assistance.
When he found out that Mia had lost her and Ari’s child in the accident, Nik, who was in need of immediate surgery, was overcome with guilt. Bella had hurried to Nik’s bedside, but he wouldn’t look at her, so she soon gave up.
After the Sienna incident, Bella vowed to stop taking photos, so she placed all of her gear up for sale. Nik bought it through a proxy and promised to store it until Bella was ready to take it back. They eventually resolved their differences and reconciled.
After the crash, Dean was unable to work due to a damaged pelvis, so Nik assumed responsibility for the board shop. But, he soon discovered that many customers simply signed up for surf lessons so they could take selfies with him.
Nik pinned the responsibility for Tane’s attack in the gym on Felicity (Jacqui Purvis), whom Tane had accused of stalking him. Tane was almost fatally poisoned with organophosphates. Using the support he had on social media, Nik declared Flick to be dangerous and asked for help finding her when she vanished. When it was proven that Flick’s buddy Anne Sherman was the real offender, he was made to eat humble pie (Megan Smart).
When John persuaded Nik to enrol in school and become a lifesaver, he had found his vocation. He initially had trouble understanding the theory, but he persisted and eventually received his bronze medallion. When he was asked to perform a man’s resuscitation on his first solo shift, he was quickly plunged into the deep end.
Nik was devastated when Ari later admitted to killing Chloe’s biological father, Matthew Montgomery (James Sweeny), a crime he was covering up for the true perpetrator Chloe. This came after celebrating Ari and Mia’s engagement. He believed that Chloe should be held accountable for what happened and was upset that he was advised that the family needed to pull together and that he should avoid Bella.
For a few days, Tane took him away and taught him the taiaha techniques to help him focus his energies. Tane taught Nik how to use it and gave him Mikaere’s taiaha to keep.
Nik was devastated to learn that Ari had a severe form of terminal cancer, and he witnessed their bedside wedding just before Ari passed away. Nik and Tane returned to New Zealand with Ari’s body after a customary Mori tangi.
Upon his return, he discovered Chloe developing an unhealthy bond to Bella while battling her guilt over Ari. Chloe grew resentful of Nik spending time with Bella and used deception to make sure Nik was shown to be the one having problems, even going so far as to take his taiaha.
After accidentally knocking Chloe’s journal off the table, Nik read it and confronted her at Ryder’s departure party, where he discovered all of Chloe’s deceitful methods.
Eventually, Nik and Chloe put their differences aside, and Nik was obliged to give up his voluntary lifesaving work in order to look for a job with a salary. When John promised to assist him in submitting an application to work as a full-time, paid lifeguard, Nik was thrilled. When the application was accepted by the council, Nik couldn’t believe he had landed his dream position.
When Bella was offered a three-month contract to work with Emmett on a photographic show in New York, Nik decided to stay in Summer Bay because of this job.
When the victim’s sister Naomi (Jamiaca Vaughan) asked him to dinner as a thank you for saving another life at the beach, John encouraged him to accept.
While Naomi nominated Nik for a courage medal, Naomi fell in love with him, but Nik fought the urge. Angered that Nik would put his life on hold for a non-attending Bella, Naomi planted a kiss on him when he bailed on going to the ceremony to claim his prize.
When Tex Wheeler (Lucas Linehan) arrived at the bay, the next danger to the Parata family was just around the corner.
He charmed his way into the lives of the locals before disclosing his true nature to Tane. He was a member of the Death Adders Motorcycle Club. They were aware that Ari had taken money from the gang during the heist that landed him in jail and that the funds were later used to purchase the gym, which Tane and an absent Mia now owned.
Nik vowed to safeguard Mia’s daughter Chloe when attention shifted to her. After the bikies refused to budge on their plans to utilise the gym as a means of money laundering, Nik worked with Tane to arrange for Chloe to sneak out of the house and board a flight for New Zealand.
Nik video-called Bella to break up with her just before she was scheduled to return to Summer Bay, knowing that the bikies could soon go for their other loved ones.
Nik followed Tane to the meeting with the bikers not knowing that Tane was a police officer. The two managed to flee unharmed when the police attacked the HQ after Nik’s arrival, which had the potential to blow the operation.
Tane and Nik were compelled to face judgement from the villagers by being plastered over the papers for being caught with the gang members in order to avoid jeopardising their safety by exposing their cover. Nik almost lost his lifesaving job as a result, but John was able to convince the committee to reconsider.
After the threat had passed, Nik was resolved to make amends with Bella and had made plans to see her in person in New York, but Dean dissuaded him from doing so. It was evident from Bella’s social media posts that she was enjoying her best life, so bringing it up again would be unfair./
Heather Frazer (Sofia Nolan), who had a no-nonsense attitude towards getting what she wanted, soon became Nik’s new love interest. They began sleeping together soon after their initial encounter.
While he began to question Heather’s motivations as she wrecked havoc for Marilyn, she tricked him into sticking by her side. He was shocked when Heather subsequently revealed that she was Marilyn’s long-lost daughter.
As Heather held Marilyn and her friends hostage and the truth about her was revealed, Nik felt bad and helped Roo find Maz in the city, where she had fled in humiliation.
Nik was honoured to be chosen as Tane’s best man for his marriage to Flick in the recent months and made a commitment to uphold Mikaere and Ari’s standards.
Tane’s buck’s night was planned in a nearby club, but the wedding was called off when the bikie group returned and wrecked the wedding car, resulting in a fatal accident.
Nik has been helping Tane over the previous several weeks while Flick spiralled out of control due to the trauma of the accident, and he was the one to notice that Flick was using alcohol as a coping technique.
Bella’s brief return to Summer Bay prompted Nik to leave with her for a new life in New York, and when he entered Salt last week, he was shocked to see her there.
