in december 2014, "soap opera digest" exclusively reported that reign edwards had been cast in the role of nicole avant — maya's younger sister. nicole's january arrival displays quite a bit of tension between the estranged siblings because nicole feels abandoned and maya's secrets slowly start to unravel. there was some initial speculation among viewers that nicole could have been maya's daughter. meanwhile, others had jokingly guessed the transgender angle. on march 18, 2015, without any prior announcement about the storyline, it is revealed that maya was actually born myron and is transgender.