Nicole identifies as biracial, and has said that while growing up as biracial, there were very few TV characters with whom she could identify. Nicole is a lesbian. She was featured in the 2010 OUT 100 list in Out magazine, and was photographed alongside Bruno Tonioli, Armistead Maupin, and Bill Silva for the issue. She married her long-time partner, Claire J. Savage, on October 5, 2013.