After the fire, Kent appeared to be a changed man, keeping himself out of trouble and performing good police work. However, he wasn't a changed man for long when he held off the temptation to begin a relationship with PC Sheelagh Murphy. Instead, he chose to seek solace in prostitutes but after regaining trust in his colleagues, he became selfish once again by dating Sheelagh while still having a prostitute girlfriend. It was a bumpy relationship, but even when June warned Sheelagh off about Kent, Smithy drunkenly revealed to her that Kerry said he raped her and Kent himself told her that he pushed the sniper to his death on purpose, Sheelagh was never swayed.
Despite the rocky nature of the relationship, the two later became engaged.