Kat Speakes arrived in Springfield after hearing that her father was engaged to producer Gilly Grant, whom Kat hated on sight. When Kat and her best friend, Bridget Reardon, learned that Gilly had once worked for an escort service, Kat blackmailed Gilly in hopes that Gilly would leave her father. Unfortunately, Gilly was not one to give in to blackmail and she quickly told Hamp the entire story, complete with Kat's blackmail attempt. Hurt, Kat ran off and ended up in a car accident; Hamp blamed Gilly and the engagement was called off. Soon, Kat began to regret what she'd done and helped the couple get back together. Hamp and Gilly were finally able to marry.

Finally accepting the marriage, Kat became very good friends with Gilly's younger brother, David. Though Hamp considered David to be a bad influence on Kat, she saw his sensitive side and continued to see him despite her father's objections. Then in 1993, David got in an argument with Vinnie Morrison, a white man who was harassing Kat, and accidentally caused his death. Believing he'd be convicted of murder, David went on the run, with Kat following. During their time together, David confessed to Kat that he'd been convicted of murder once before. The revelation didn't faze Kat however, and she continued to stand by him. Though Gilly finally confessed that David went to jail to cover for her crime, it was discovered that she wasn't the real murderer. In the end, Vinnie's death was ruled an accident and Kat and David were able to go on with their lives.

Soon after, Kat left Springfield to join her mother on a European vacation. A few weeks later, she sent David a postcard signed, "miss you", instead of "love you". In the middle of August, David was to have picked up Kat from the airport, from her adventures in Europe, but instead Kat sent David the following "Dear John" letter):

"Dear David, I'm sitting here looking out the window of my hotel room. There's a park below the window that stretches to the Danube, which really is blue. But I can't see it today. I can't see anything, can't think of anything, except what I'm going to say to you. Writing this letter is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I'm not coming back right away, because mom has arranged for me to study for a semester at Wittenburg University. And I can't turn down the opportunity ... No, I promised myself I wouldn't do this. I swore I'd be honest with you. There's another reason I'm staying, but you probably guessed that. It's me David. My life wasn't going the way I wanted, the way I dreamed it would be. Please don't take that the wrong way. I love being with you. I love you. You're a wonderful man, but something's missing. And I'm starting to realize it could be me, my sense of self. I promise to come back after a few months, but I don't think we should write or call while I'm gone. I know it will be a little hard, but it's the best way, David, for both of us ... I miss you and please believe that I love you. Be well, Kat."

A few months later, Kat came back to the Reardon Boarding House and caught David dancing with Gabriella Lopez (very romantically). Later, Kat confronted David about seeing him with Gabriella. During the argument, Kat stated that she left a message with David telling him that she was returning, but he claimed to have never gotten since he'd been too busy helping Gabriella. Kat left in a huff and we later learned in 1996, that Kat met a man in Europe, and moved to Boston with him.