Shawn Christian Pays Tribute to His Late Friend

Please join us in extending our condolences to former Days Of Our Lives star Shawn Christian (ex-Daniel) as he grieves the heartbreaking death of a family friend, Nicole Marsel.

Just 40 years young, Marsel sadly passed away on June 25 after a courageous (second) battle with breast cancer. Not only was Marsel best friends with Christian’s stepdaughter, Hallmark Channel star Taylor Cole, but she was also an alumnus of the local Lake Tahoe Television station where the soap vet currently works as an on-air host.

On Instagram, Christian shared a beautiful Reel set to the melancholy song “One More Time” by Blink 182 — which he noted was one of her favorite bands. Footage in the video included many images of Marsel at work at the television station, as well as her hanging out with Cole and Christian.

“Nicole, your adventurous spirit will forever live on,” the television personality wrote. “You are dearly missed. Your love for living life to the fullest is an inspiration to all who knew [you].”

In addition to tagging Cole in his sweet tribute, Christian mentioned his fiancée, Arianne Zucker (Nicole, DAYS ), and several other friends in their Lake Tahoe community. “You have touched so many lives here in Tahoe and beyond,” he noted. “I will cherish our conversations and connection forever.”

Christian made his television debut in 1994 when he joined the cast of As The World Turns as Mike Kasnoff. Parting ways with the CBS sudser three years later, he went on to appear in many primetime series, like Pacific Palisades, Charmed, Friends, Boston Legal, Las Vegas, and Beverly Hills, 90210. He returned to daytime in the Summer of 2002, playing One Life To Live grifter Ross Rayburn. In 2008, he moved over to NBC when DAYS tapped him to create the role of Dr. Daniel Jonas — meeting Zucker on the soap’s set — and portraying the character until he was killed off in 2017.

Our thoughts are with Christian, Cole, Zucker, and the rest of their Lake Tahoe community during this difficult time.