In 1973 Kittie fell for a gunslinger "Will Stambridge" she darn near gave up on Matt, but Will was one of the fastest shots around and young bucks were riding into Dodge to make a name for themselves. Will figured it was best to get out of Kansas and Kittie realized Matt was still the one for her...but it was close.........
also in 1973 there was a episode called "Matt's Love Story. Matt was pursuing a convict and got thrown from his horse and lost his memory. A widow named Mike Yardner (her Pa always wanted a boy) brought Matt back to her cabin for a recovery. Matt's first kiss on Gunsmoke was with this lovely blond played by Michael Learned (The Waltons was a tad bit later for her) not Miss Kittie. Matt even stayed the night (if ya know what I am sayin) I guess cheatin on Kittie don't count if you cant remember her. Matt eventually got his memory back and Mike told him "It is hard to lose two good men in a lifetime" and rode away and left him free to go back to Dodge and Miss Kittie.
Yeah, Old Smokes favorite show is Gunsmoke