Star Trek: 10 Things You Didn't Know About Kathryn Janeway

5. Previous Engagement

Star Trek Voyager Mark Johnson
CBS Media Ventures

It is established in the very first episode of Voyager that Kathryn Janeway is in a relationship with Mark Johnson. Mark is mentioned at various points throughout the seven seasons, at first serving as Janeway’s drive to return home and later delivering the catalyst for the captain to accept that her life will forever be changed as a result of the Delta Quadrant.

It isn’t until a line of dialogue in season 4’s Hunters that we learn the extent of Mark and Kathryn’s relationship when it is revealed that they were, in fact, engaged when Voyager disappeared. 

Viewers assumed, then, that when Janeway mentions losing the “man [she] was engaged to marry” in season 5’s The Disease, she must have been referring to Mark. But when we delve into the beta canon, this might not be the fiancé she was talking about.

Jeri Taylor’s 1996 Voyager novel, Mosaic, establishes an earlier relationship for Kathryn Janeway with Lieutenant Justin Tighe. The pair met while serving aboard the USS Icarus where, then, Ensign Janeway initially found the Lieutenant to be infuriating to work with. This changed when Kathryn and Captain Paris were captured by the Cardassians and it was Justin who led the Rangers team that rescued them.

From there, the Ensign and Lieutenant formed a bond which blossomed into a budding romance and engagement. But before the wedding bells could chime, tragedy struck and changed Kathryn Janeway’s life forever…

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Ellie has been part of the WhatCulture team since 2021 where she began as a freelance presenter for the WhoCulture channel. As a diehard Whovian with a BA (hons) degree in Drama and Acting, this role was the perfect opportunity for her to combine her screen presence training with her extensive Doctor Who knowledge. From there, she branched out to various other WhatCulture channels, including TrekCulture, and became a full time Content Producer/Video Presenter in 2023. Ellie is now a regular fixture on both WhoCulture and TrekCulture and has become a well respected public figure within both fandoms, building up a substantial following across her social media platforms and being given the opportunity to represent the channels and the wider communities at several industry events. Her favourite Doctor Who character is River Song and her favourite Star Trek character is Captain Janeway - which tells you everything you need to know about how she approaches her role within a generally male dominated field.