And just like that, another era of Carrie Bradshaw ends. Sex and the City fans have followed Bradshaw for over two decades, through countless cosmopolitans and unaffordable Manolo Blahniks. The iconic character, played by Sarah Jessica Parker, made New York City her playground — alongside her best friends Charlotte (Kristin Davis), Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), and Samantha (Kim Cattrall). The crew lived, laughed, and loved their way through the city that never sleeps.
The show made its mark on pop culture with its fabulous fashions, its nuanced depiction of fiercely loyal friendships, and its frank, groundbreaking look at sex and dating from a woman’s perspective. Carrie and the gang made their way through the New York dating scene — canoodling with modelizers, younger men, and everyone in between — but over the six seasons of the series, it’s Carrie’s many entanglements that most reliably sent us reeling. As Carrie’s story comes to an end with the finale of the SATC spin-off, And Just Like That…, we’d be remiss to not revisit some of the long-term loves, underrated gems, and straight-up duds of her dating life. Here are the tops.
Mr. Big (Chris Noth), in some ways, is Carrie’s white whale. Their on-and-off relationship permeates her dating life throughout the series. The pair initially meet-cute in the very first episode, when Carrie spills the contents of her bag on the sidewalk and Big helps her pick them up. After more run-ins at parties and restaurants, the two begin dating, only for Carrie to break up with the consummate Manhattan bachelor at the end of Season 1 because of his commitment issues. That breakup isn’t their last — they split again at the end of Season 2, after having given it the old college try. After Big marries Natasha (Bridget Moynahan) in Season 3, he and Carrie have an affair that changes the trajectory of their relationship: They become friends. By the end of the series, when Big extricates Carrie from Paris and her latest bad relationship, he gets the only co-sign that matters: Miranda’s.
After her devastating first breakup with Mr. Big, Carrie begins Season 2 of Sex and the City on the rebound, smoking, drinking, and moping her way through the city. After catching a fly ball at a Yankees game in Season 2, Episode 1 (“Take Me Out to the Ballgame”), Carrie and her friends meet Miranda’s new favorite baseball player, Joe (Mark Devine). Carrie asks him out to a Dolce & Gabbana party, where the two begin to get to know each other. Though Miranda warns her that “you can’t rebound with the new Yankee,” Carrie tries anyway. But a chance encounter with Big when she’s with Joe makes apparent where her heart still belongs.
Carrie’s dating again after Big and her rebound with the New Yankee, but the landscape’s bleak. In Season 2, Episode 3 (“The Freak Show”), she meets a cute political writer, Ben (Ian Kahn), in the park. When they finally go out on a date, Carrie ends up falling for him. He seems too good to be true — give or take a Tweety Bird tattoo from a long-ago bachelor party. After a great date and a morning in bed, Carrie freaks out while he’s at soccer, ransacking his apartment looking for evidence of what’s wrong with him. When he comes back to find Carrie and his things all over the place, he immediately dumps her.
At the beginning of Season 3, Carrie’s still reeling from Big’s recent engagement. At a fire department fundraiser on Staten Island in Season 3, Episode 1 (“Where There’s Smoke”), she meets Bill Kelley (John Slattery), a divorcé running for New York City Comptroller. Bill gets her vote, after his charm and charisma win Carrie over. For two episodes, she’s in her best Jackie Kennedy fashions as Bill campaigns throughout the city. But multiple things end the relationship — for one thing, Bill’s staff feel that dating Carrie, a sex columnist, might compromise his campaign. But perhaps more importantly, Bill wants Carrie to pee on him, which is … not on her ballot.
Carrie first meets Aidan (John Corbett) in Season 3, Episode 5 (“No Ifs, Ands or Butts”), after her friend Stanford (Willie Garson) reads an article about the handsome furniture designer. The chemistry is immediate: Unlike Big, Aidan is open, communicative, and willing to commit. But in true Carrie fashion, she sabotages the relationship by having an affair with Big. When she tells Aidan about her infidelity, he ends things. In Season 4, a chance reunion — and a look at Aidan 2.0, who is newly fit with a buzz cut — leaves Carrie overcome with nostalgia. She begins to aggressively pursue him, but he’s initially hesitant. Their next go-round is decidedly more serious, with them moving in together and getting engaged. But when trying on wedding dresses gives Carrie hives (literally!) in Season 4, Episode 15 (“Change of a Dress”), they end it for good.
Carrie hits a new professional milestone by getting her first book published, and embarks on a press tour. At her publicist’s office in Season 5, Episode 5 (“Plus One Is the Loneliest Number”), she meets an intriguing novelist, Jack Berger (Ron Livingston). After a little shop talk and a lot of flirty banter, Berger reveals that he has a long-time live-in girlfriend. Carrie’s friends write him off as a jerk for not disclosing his relationship status right away, but Carrie is more sympathetic. She runs into him again, now single, at a Hamptons wedding in the Season 5 finale, and the two begin dating when they return to the city at the start of Season 6. Things go wrong immediately. At first, they can’t get it right in bed. And even after their sexual chemistry comes together, they can’t stop sniping at each other. Berger constantly complains about his failed novel and resents Carrie’s success; they argue about everything from carnations to scrunchies. Eventually, they go on a brief break. When they get back together, Berger does something that will go down in pop culture history — he breaks up with Carrie on a Post-it.
Carrie reconnects with Jeremy (David Duchovny), her high school boyfriend, after her brutal breakup with Berger in Season 6, Episode 10. Recently divorced, Jeremy’s passing through the city on his way to Connecticut, and he and Carrie begin spending time together. Eventually, Jeremy reveals what brought him to the area: He’s actually staying at a mental health facility. Carrie’s initially wary, but Jeremy remains honest and open about what he’s trying to achieve. After Carrie’s visit to his facility, Jeremy’s revelation that his treatment is expected to last eight to 10 months is what prompts them to call time on their relationship.
In Season 6, Episode 12 (“One”), Carrie and Charlotte attend an experimental performance art piece at which Carrie catches the eye of a Russian artist and New York legend, Aleksandr Petrovsky (Mikhail Baryshnikov). After a bizarre first date, the older Petrovsky lavishes Carrie with attention unlike anything she’s ever experienced before, buying her pink taffeta Oscar de la Renta dresses and composing songs specifically for her. Even though things are going well, Petrovsky is brash and set in his ways, and expects Carrie to fit herself snugly into his life. She begins to lose herself in the relationship, abandoning her friends in the process. When Petrovsky has to go to Paris indefinitely, Carrie goes with him, leaving her beloved New York behind. Immediately, he throws himself into his work, abandoning Carrie in the City of Lights as things grow tense between them. A breakup is imminent. The inciting incident: An accidental slap after an argument. And guess which of Carrie’s exes just happens to be in Paris …
