Shane's presumed-dead wife Emma resurfaced and came to Salem. Kimberly pulled back from Shane and sought solace with Victor Kiriakis, a wealthy and much older businessman.

Unknown to anyone in Salem, Kimberly's mother Caroline had been romantically involved with Victor many years ago, before he had gone away to Europe to make his fortune. She told Victor that she wanted their past to remainin the past. Victor helped the Brady family whenever he could because of his continued affection for Caroline. He turned out to be a powerful crime boss who oversaw the drug operations of Savannah Wilder.

Kimberly eventually reunited with Shane, who had been assigned by the ISA to bring down Kiriakis. Bo, Hope, Shane and Kimberly travelled to Miami to destroy Kiriakis in a mysterious plot which involved Kiriakis, Stefano Dimera, and an unknown element dubbed "The Pawn". Ultimately it was revealed that the corrupt ISA chief Nickerson was also involved. With Shane trapped in Victor's study, Kimberly was forced to have sex with Victor to save Shane's life.

As the year came to an end, Kimberly, who was by now engaged to Shane, told him that she was pregnant. He was delighted, but Kimberly was less so. She didn't tell Shane that it was possible that Victor was the baby's father. When Shane finally did find out, he and Kimberly separated. Nonetheless, they happened to be together in the West Virginia wilderness when Kim went into premature labor. Shane delivered the child, a breech birth, and he was named Andrew Shawn. The child was actually Shane's son, but vindictive Emma altered the results of the paternity tests so that everyone was led to believe that Victor had sired the child. Shane was committed to Kim by this time, and they planned to marry anyway. Emma was outraged that her scheme had failed to split up Shane and Kim. She kidnapped the baby and sold him to a baby broker in Cleveland. Emma was arrested for the crime but she pled insanity and would not lead them to the baby.

Although they loved each other, the stress and pain of the missing baby came between Shane and Kim and they once again split up. What they didn't realize was that in an ironic twist of fate, Andrew was in Salem, the newly adopted child of Paul and Barbara Stewart.

On New Year's Eve, Shane found Emma dead in Neil Curtis' study; she had been murdered. Shane tried to provide an alibi for Kim, but she was arrested for the crime. Shane set to work to clear Kim's name, and in the course of his investigation he learned that the Stewart baby was really Andrew. Barbara panicked and fled, but was fatally injured in a car wreck on her way out of town. Shane and Kim were reunited with Andrew, and Emma's real killer, Gillian Forrester, Shane's former ISA partner, was apprehended. Shane and Kim were finally married.

In 1987, Kim befriended a troubled teenage girl at the sexual abuse clinic. Eve was a prostitute, and had come to Salem to find her father: Shane Donovan. Eve believed that Emma had been her mother, and that Kimberly had destroyed her parents' marriage. She vowed revenge on Kim, who was pregnant with her second child.

Shane invited Eve to move into the Donovan home, where she caused Kimberly as much stress as possible. Shane tried to ameliorate the situation by legally adopting Eve. Her former pimp, Nick Corelli, forced Eve back into prostitution. When she was assaulted by an angry customer, Eve called Kimberly. Kim arrived and tried to rescue Eve but she was assaulted as well, resulting in a miscarriage. Shane learned later that another of his former ISA partners, Gabrielle Pascal, was Eve's mother. Hurt and angry, Kim opted to leave town for a while. She returned to Salem some time later, only to find that Shane had developed feelings for Gabrielle. He filed for a legal separation.

Kimberly went undercover to catch the Riverfront Knifer, and was arrested for prostitution. When it became evident to Shane that she was working undercover, he and Kim joined forces. During the course of their operation, Shane realized how much he loved Kimberly and told Gabrielle that he was still in love with his wife.

After Senator Harper Devereaux was revealed as the Riverfront Knifer and the danger was behind them, Shane began to pursue Kimberly romantically. They renewed their vows and went to Shane's home country of England for a second honeymoon.

Shane went back to work once they returned to Salem. When he disappeared suddenly, Kim assumed that he was working undercover. In reality, he had been abducted by Jericho, a former ISA friend. Steve Johnson went undercover as Daniel Lucas to infiltrate Saul Taylor's revival camp and discovered evidence which led him to believe that Shane was not only alive, but likely being held prisoner. He reported his findings to the ISA, but they treated Shane as terminated.

Steve, acting alone, found Shane and together they pursued Jericho after he had gunned down Saul. Jericho triggered a bomb; Steve escaped, but Shane was presumed dead.

Eve was furious to learn that Shane had left all his money to Kimberly. Cal Winters, a private investigator, lent support to Kim in her time of grief.

Shane was, however, alive. The explosion had not killed him, but had caused him to lose his memory. He was befriended by Rebecca Downey, a woman on the run from her husband. Rebecca found Shane's wallet and learned his identity, but concealed it from him. When he found his ISA badge, Shane realized that Rebecca had deceived him.

Kim, who was feeling guilty for allowing Cal to get so close to her, went to the mountains to be alone. Cal followed her, however, and they nearly stumbled across Shane! Back in Salem, Cal and Kim made love for the first time, unaware that Shane had come back to town and was standing outside their bedroom door.

When Cal learned that Shane was alive and in Salem, he orchestrated a scenario where Kim mistook Shane for a prowler and shot him. Not yet having fully recovered his memory, Shane didn't believe Kim's prowler story. Cal and Rebecca teamed up to keep Shane and Kim apart, but when Rebecca threatened to tell all and expose his scheming, Cal murdered her.

Kim was eventually cleared of any criminal intent in the shooting and Shane agreed to go home with her. She suggested hypnosis to help him recover his memory. Cal was obsessed with Kim and abducted her. Shane figured out where they were and saved Kim.

Shane began an investigation of Lawrence Alamain and Jencon Oil. To distract Shane and thwart his investigation, Lawrence lured Kim back to Salem. Shane's ISA chief, Tarrington, recruited Shane to spy on Lawrence. Tensions mounted when Tarrington presented Kim as Shane's new contact.

Jennifer Horton pressed rape charges against Lawrence. He enlisted Kim to help prove that he couldn't remember the assault because he suffered from blackouts, the result of some childhood trauma. Kimberly grew increasingly suspicious and bugged the Alamain mansion. She was devastated to learn that Lawrence had only been using her to clear his name of the charges against him. When she confronted him, Lawrence boldly confessed to her that he had indeed raped Jennifer. Kimberly had taped the confession and gave it to Jack Devereaux, who used it to have Lawrence arrested.

Cal escaped prison and kidnapped Kayla, but she was soon rescued, and Cal revealed that Shane really was the father of Kimberly's baby girl Jeannie. Kimberly left Salem and moved to Los Angeles. She called Kayla to tell her about an exciting job opportunity, and Kayla decided to join her sister in L.A. A few months later, Kim returned to Salem to announce her engagement to Philip Collier.

Almost immediately upon her arrival in town, Kim was run over by drunk driver Roger Lombard. Kim was taken to the hospital, where she remained comatose for several days. When she awoke, she behaved a little strangely, but concealed her deep problem: she had Multiple Personality Disorder.

One of her alternate personalities was Lacey, a streetwise tramp, who wore a red wig and frequented Casey's Roadhouse. One of the patrons, Randy Huston, tried to take advantage of Lacey, so she stabbed him in self-defense, killing him. Philip tried to help Kimberly through hypnosis, but a third persona, Clare, appeared. She threatened to harm Kim if Philip interfered in any way. As Clare, she shot her brother Roman. He underwent brain surgery and made a full recovery.

Kimberly ultimately made a full recovery as well, and she and Philip returned to L.A. together. From time to time, she returns to Salem to visit family and friends, but always returns to her life and home in Los Angeles.