In 2008, Kevin married Jana Hawkes (Emily O'Brien), and their pairing garnered a fan following. Of their relationship, Rikaart stated: "Jana's very suspicious of Kevin and what he's done, and feels really bad about it. I have faith that we're solid as a couple to survive that, but it's also going to provide some really great, and much needed, conflict between the two." Jana later began to have bizarre behavior, which was explained after her diagnosis of a brain tumor. Rikaart stated: "That is what we are banking on, at least for Kevin. The tumor was this great explanation for Jana’s behavior. I think he never really understood why she did what she did. Kevin is trying to create this whole defense for her; that everything she did was because of the tumor." In 2010, Kevin divorced Jana and later began dating Chloe Mitchell (Elizabeth Hendrickson). Rikaart and Hendrickson later stated that their personal relationship influenced former head writer Maria Arena Bell to pair the characters. Of Kevin's love and relationship with Chloe, Rikaart stated, "It came out of that sort of build of emotions that have been happening within him, that whether he realized it or not, has been going on for a long time already." Hendrickson added that she thought Chloe "had been through so much with guys, and even if she had feelings for Kevin, it was so deep down that it wasn’t even something she was willing to recognize. I think that what happened between her two great loves had damaged her so much, that I don’t think she was willing to accept the fact that this is possibly what love could be like."