“Being married to a cop is not for the faint of heart,” but neither is living in Colorado Springs. In tonight’s episode of “Homicide Hunter: Lt. Joe Kenda” on Investigation Discovery is a family affair; we get to meet the real Kathy Kenda and Kathy and Joe Kenda’s two adult kids: Kris (Simpson) and Dan on a special fan episode.

This episode, “Married to the Job,”  looks at a handful of cases–one where Joe is one of many officers answering a domestic disturbance where the wife and kid are being held hostage (4 January 1982), another case is when a caller threatens Kathy and her family, a public disturbance, and then there’s the one where Joe attempts to get patient info at Kathy’s workplace without legal permission.

Joe and Kathy met at a basketball game and Joe believes it was love at first sight. As of this year, they have been married for 51 years. After college, Joe worked for a company trucking newspapers in Western Pennsylvania, but they were struggling financially and Joe hated his job. What the program doesn’t say is that Joe graduated with a degree in political science (University of Pittsburgh) and a masters in international relations Ohio State according to a 2014 article in Colorado Springs Style.

Kathy was a part-time nurse and she had high standards–sometimes coming into conflict with Joe’s work. Dan calls her the “epitome of grace under pressure” and Joe says that he knows she suffered from his dedication to his work and that she was always pretty tough. I love that Kathy has a “come to Jesus” attitude when she confronts Joe, and Joe admits there were occasions when he thought maybe he  shouldn’t go home.

Going through my memories of all the episodes I’ve seen, I don’t believe I’ve ever seen Joe smile and, when he does, I can believe their mutual friend, Ann Ervin, when she says they both have a terrific sense of humor. If you’re married, then it’s lovely to see how these two very strong-willed individuals made it work for 51 years.

“Married to the Job” premieres today, Wednesday, 6 February 2019 at 9/8c on Investigation Discovery.