A few months ago, writer Candace Bushnell talked about how she thought her Sex and the City characters would have ended up. Candace created the iconic characters of Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha, as well as Mr. Big for that matter, but as Bushnell always pointed out – her autobiographical story of Big and Carrie ended when they broke up the first time. Everything else was a soap opera made up by the HBO team. So, no surprise, Bushnell didn’t really think that Big and Carrie would have or should have ended up together. I’m still meh on that – I think Mr. Big got off on being emotionally withholding and Carrie got off on the drama. But we can all agree that Aidan wasn’t the one, right? Right. Apparently, Bushnell’s mom hated Aidan too.
Nearly 10 years after Carrie Bradshaw and Mr. Big finally said “I do” in Sex and the City’s first feature film, Candace Bushnell is revealing that there was a surprising force driving the couple’s romantic fate.
“My mother always hated Aidan, for some reason, so I could never really be team Aidan,” Bushnell, 58, exclusively told Us Weekly’s video correspondent Christina Garibaldi at Us Weekly’s Stylish New Yorkers party. “Whenever I would go home and visit my parents, my mother would say, ‘Why is Carrie with Aidan and not Mr. Big? You’ve got to get rid of Aidan. My mother never felt that Aidan was the right person for Carrie,” the author added of John Corbett’s character, who had an on-and-off relationship with Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie on the series before she ultimately ended up with Chris Noth’s Mr. Big. “So I felt obligated to take her side.”
While Bushnell’s mother certainly wasn’t the only influence on the show’s storyline, the television producer isn’t denying her input on the ultimate outcome. “So your mom is the reason Carrie is with Big?” Garibaldi asked, to which Bushnell replied: “Perhaps.”
While at the event at the Jane Ballroom at The Jane Hotel in NYC, Bushnell admitted that she has high hopes for another SATC film, however doesn’t see it coming to life. “I always wish that it would,” she told Us. “I don’t know if it will ever happen, probably not.” As for where the characters would be today, Bushnell just wants the duo to still be going strong: “Hopefully they’re still happily married!”
I always felt like Aidan got a raw deal, honestly. He was obviously SO wrong for Carrie, but that doesn’t mean he was a bad guy – he was an open book, he accepted her as she was (except for the smoking thing) and he liked the outdoors. He didn’t play a lot of games. That was his fatal flaw, in Carrie’s mind. Looking back at all of Carrie’s exes, Aidan was not the worst, at all. Remember Jack Berger, as played by Ron Livingston? BERGER WAS THE WORST. The absolute worst. Aidan seems like a dream boyfriend compared to Berger. I’m prepared to fight about this.
Photos courtesy of WENN, ‘Sex and the City’/HBO..
I still think Carrie was the worst. For everyone involved.
This.
Which is why she and Big made a good couple. He wasn’t the best but better than Carrie and is the type of person who puts up with her antics and and she is entertained by him. So they fit well together and kind of mellowed out and became better people as they aged.
Same.
Agreed. Carrie was the worst.
Also this was not the Sex and the City post I expected today. So much drama
Celebitchy covered the said drama two days ago – http://www.celebitchy.com/551824/sarah_jessica_parker_wore_a_bad_monse_says_satc_3_movie_isnt_happening_now/ . I was rather surprised by the vitriol coming from Parker/Davis ( i am not sure Nixon has commented as of yet)
It’s rare that I miss a CB post so I didn’t see this one. The divide between the stars I think really began to show after the last movie. Rumors about SJP and Cantrall being split from the cast have plagued the group. Not surprised Nixon didn’t comment she always seemed to stay out of the fray
@Tanguerita: Davis needs to STFU. Is she so desperate to “revive” her career? She should be thankful she had a job for so long and made a ton of money with her minimal talent.
I loved Cattral’s response on her twitter.
@To Sarah Jessica Parker: The fans are not asking for a third movie. Stop it!
I loved the show but Carrie was intolerable. When she went to the bank and tried to get a loan…ugh.
She married her John
Agree. Carrie and Big were perfect for each other because they were both selfish, insecure and shallow. The world revolved around only them. I hated that show because I really couldn’t stand any of the women though I kept trying to watch for a while because of all the hype. Move on people.
Miranda was pretty cool, wasn’t she? I never understood why no one wanted to “be” her.
I do the others were fantasy characters. Miranda was too realistic
Yes! I don’t get why people like her. I love Sarah Jessica, but I cannot stand Carrie.
I picked Miranda as she’s like me. So, we exist, people.
A million times this.
The best thing about Aidan was Pete the dog. He was a good guy but not right for Carrie.
Carrie invited Big up to Aiden’s country house. Big, the guy she cheated with! Who does that?!
Carrie that’s who.
Haha, that was so selfish of her. She”s exhausting.
Aidan was definitely too good for Carrie.
Yeah I think this is right in the sense that his character was more emotionally evolved and secure than hers.
The ONLY thing I liked about the second movie was that Aiden showed up. And frankly like with Carrie, Aiden was too good for that movie.
This!! I loved Aiden. It was Carrie who was the idiot. Screaming bloody murder when she saw a squirrel? Seriously?
I thought the lack of chemistry between SJP and John Corbett was the problem. I felt like he was miscast.
Am I the only one who would want an Aidan in real life?
Nope, Me to!
@Andrea. No, you are not alone, I would love an Aidan.
Aidan was too good for Carrie.
She would NEVER have ended up with Big. Guys who jerk you around for years and keep dumping you for others don’t end up marrying you. It was a silly ending that didn’t do the characters and their trajectories justice. I think Carrie should have stayed single and found value in that lifestyle.
+1
Carrie thought she was too good for anyone. She just wanted to play dress-up and go out.
Both Aidan and Big had some depth to them, but she was the epitome of shallow and vapid.
It’s a shame Candace’s other books don’t get more attention…she is a good writer of a certain fluff variety of fiction.
Yes, she is.
I like that her characters are based on real people, and she uses real places. She is a good pop writer without pretensions of being a grand novelist. I hope she keeps writing.
Out of curiosity (because I love to read and am interested in what makes a good and bad writer) – what pop authors do have pretensions of being grand?
As a small town girl in my late teens and twenties, I worshipped this show and thought the characters and their issues were so complex and sophisticated.
The older I get, the sillier the reruns become. Carrie and Big are just about the unhealthiest example of what a relationship should be.
Carrie was a crappy friend and, and that’s one of the better things to say about her. She annoyed me the first time I watched the series as a teen, but rewatching a few years ago made me realise how crappy she was.
She should have stayed happily single and learnt how to be a better friend.
Yes! She was an awful person all around, which I realized later, too. She was so self-centered.
In the last movie, I felt that Big had definitely matured but Carrie was still stuck. Carrie was the problem because I always thought Big was upfront about who he was, Carrie just wanted him to star in her drama.
Big was/is THE WORST. I loved Aiden! But I honestly can’t stand the Carrie character. Probably because she cheated on Aiden with big. I’ve never forgiven her.
I am still waiting for my Aiden.
@Gigi I am too!
Carrie delivering a Big Mac to Mr Big in a fuqing beret made me feel stabby.
OMG that was one of the most obnoxious things she ever did….and she’s done a lot of obnoxious things. And then she threw the food at the wall because he didn’t immediately pledge eternal love. UGH!
And that breathy, pseudo girly voice she put on when her and Big were getting along…
I can’t help but continue to love this show. It’s like my emotional happy place. Even though Carrie became increasingly frustrating and self-centered as a character, I would still watch this series over and over.
I don’t think Carrie was ever really emotionally available for a relationship. That’s why she kept going back to Big. Someone mature, straightforward and kind like Aidan could never be what she really wanted. He was too simple and she needed pain for love to feel real.
I think a single Carrie could have been a better ending for the show. Maybe Carrie and Big continuing to be close friends with an understanding between them that they’re actually too similar to make a romantic relationship work? That could have been interesting.
(weirdly though I loved all the other couples. Miranda and Steve were perfect. Charlotte and Harry. I could really see how those characters ended up together)
charlotte and harry were THE BEST.
Yes, they were and Charlotte being a convert was adorable because they are like Charlotte sometimes and throw themselves into it with more knowledge than a person who was born Jewish. They loved each other, and I liked how she realized how lucky she had been and then worked to get him back.
It was life before war and 9/11, but I never got to experience it as an adult. However, I do remember the world didn’t seem so gloomy and frightening.
yes. without a doubt harry was the best guy on the whole show.
Big was just as emotionally unavailable as Carrie. I sadly though keep finding men who are emotionally unavailable in their 30’s and 40’s. The most intense connection I have had in my life involved a 42 year old man last year. We couldn’t take our eyes off of each other upon meeting and this carried on for months (we worked together). Finally, I asked him to coffee and he basically told me he was emotionally unavailable. He hasn’t had a girlfriend all year and has been playing the field. I am finally emotionally available and I am frightened the ones I am most attracted to are not, especially at our ages (I’m 36).
Her worst boyfriend was the Russian dancer who was physically abusive and controlling. They had to make that guy so awful to make it seem like Carrie was making a good choice by getting back together with Big. Aiden was too good for Carrie. She’s so self involved and felt too special to be satisfied with a nice person who respected her. She had to have the drama and challenge of making someone love her. She changed Big. She won! That was the mentality of the show. In real life Aiden would be a dream partner: creative, manly, treats you with adoration.
OMG…he was the absolute worst! That relationship just showed how immature Carrie was, who would fall for that nonsense?!
Was Burger really that bad? It didn’t end well, and I suppose he was a pretty angry, intense guy. So yeah, he was bad, but not as bad as the artiste.
Burger was terrible. He didn’t like the fact that she was more successful than him. Same with the Russian. She was suppose to go to the dinner party some fans were throwing instead she blew it off because the Russian couldn’t handle his new show even though it wasn’t the grand opening.
Remember Berger broke up with her on a Post-it-Note!
So bad.
But I think the Russian was her worst partner ever.
I never saw what she saw in Berger. He was awful.
Honestly, I always thought Charlotte had the funniest love life. Remember the guy who never spoke but was known for his talents going down? And the guy who wanted her to do it “up the butt”? And the guy who got circumcised and then dumped her? And when she was about to give it all up for the rabbit vibrator? I loved Charlotte
People always talked about Samantha’s sex life as a thing of wonder, but honestly Charlotte and Miranda had the seriously awkward, neurotic wierd sex. It was hilarious. Samantha was practically pedestrian compared to them.
I did think that Samantha’s relationship with Smith was sweet and it worked in her weirdo way. Otherwise, bleechhhhh. Her taste was awful. Richard was such a greasy slimeball.
Agreed about Charlotte and Miranda. Remember the guy who wanted to, um, “toss Miranda’s salad”? And I just liked them more, too. Remember when Charlotte was so upset about her fertility issues that she couldn’t stand to be around Miranda, who was randomly pregnant, but Miranda didn’t want to leave her alone and so walked behind her until she got home? Tears.
That show had problems, especially looking back on it now, but I really loved it
I loved that scene depicting Miranda’s and Charlotte’s friendship, too. Samantha was an awesome friend, as well. Never judged her girlfriends.
Oh, that scene with Charlotte and Miranda! It was so sweet.
Me too.
Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha were always interesting. When reruns come on, i always hope it’s an episode focusing on them and not Carrie.
Charlotte focusing so much on marrying the perfect guy who turned out to have such a major flaw. And her shocking her prissy sorority sisters with her outburst about it. And then those judgey ladies were so shocked that she could admit a fault at all which made her appreciate Samantha.
haha I love your second paragraph!
On topic: yes, Carrie is a VERY faulty character, more so than her friends and lovers – which is one of the reasons why, in my opinion, the show broke ground. They actually dared to make their main female character a bit of an a**hole.
I love and want to be Samantha (independent, she just knew who she was, wasn’t in self denial, made no compromises, etc) with a bit of Miranda, lol.
My oldest sister is so much like Miranda I wondered if Candace knew her intimately. She has no time for fools and is a barracuda in her career and not particularly maternal and doesn’t have time for fools but she is a rock, and her soft side is cute. She has a little of Samantha’s boldness too. It makes me wonder if that was a type of woman in the 90s in New York in her late 20s to 30s.
Me too. I want to be Samantha.
Berger is where the show jumped the shark.
Why did people dislike Aidan?! I loved him. Carrie didn’t deserve him IMO.
I loved him too; I thought he was so great to her. He was reliable and accepted her the way she was. The posters upthread had it correct though, he didn’t generate enough drama for Carrie.
I think people generally liked him, but thought that he was way too good for Carrie. Which he was. Total mismatch.
I have to concur with everyone here that points out that Mr. Bigs never change and that their relationship was very unhealthy. (Trust me, I know.)
I felt all the good work done in earlier episodes with a frank look at middle-class single lady life was undone by his completely unrealistic transformation. Add to this, his millions and movie star looks and you have an ending that completely invalidated any female empowerment that was explored earlier on. He became the worst kind of fantasy female savior.
The film’s complete descent into complete consumerism just drowned the franchise in vulgar designer goods and cosmetic fillers.
Absolutely agree with you! The movie and he “happy ending” made me furious. The show was smart, funny and dealt with real women’s issue in a witty way. The movie was a product placement aspiring Stepford’s wife dream. I hated the movie and do not understand how anyone can think it was goooood!
Agree 100000%. Complete fantasy BS and sticker ending. The Mr. Bigs of the world don’t end up marrying the women they’ve screwed around with for years. That disappointed me. Agree with some PP.
I thought the films turned the characters into total parodies of themselves as well.
Exactly. They turned Charlotte into an airhead idiot with her mincing little baby steps. Both movies and the potential third, were written by the same man, Michael Patrick King, who I’m convinced never understood the show. He exaggerated all of their faults and turned the characters into little more than caricatures of themselves.
Completely agree. I also think the undercurrent about Carrie is that she wanted money and status. Big had both–Aidan had money but wasn’t pretentious like her.
I loved Aidan and I loved Miranda. My favorite couple was Charlotte and Harry. I feel like I watched a different show when I talk to people about it lol
I never saw the movies I don’t think. My best friend was obsessed with it in a way I never was. Maybe because I didn’t love the characters I was supposed to.
Charlotte and Harry were marvelous. She found real love and exactly what she wanted where she least expected it.
Charlotte and Harry is the show’s best couple. I loved Miranda. She’s my favorite. Aidan annoyed me, but he needed someone else and I think I would have liked him better with another woman.
You know who annoyed me really? Steve. I didn’t care for his man-boy shtick.
I’m surprised to see so many people hate Carrie so much! I thought she was a perfect comedy character, multi-dimensional and entertaining. SJP really delivered.
My favorite was Charlotte. I could relate to her values by which I mean she was looking for a man who treats you with an old-fashioned adoration.
I didn’t hate Carrie either. I just thought she seemed like a single woman who was self-reliant and unsure about her choices.
They were before my time, so I don’t relate to any of them, but I see them in my sisters and older cousins who live in the city.
I’m not surprised Bushnell hated Aidan. She is the kind of woman who’d be all about drama with Big. Not a relationship even but drama. She would be the person who is still dancing on tables at 50 and calling in the middle of the night to cry about some a$$hole to her girlfriends who have been settled with a good partner for a while.
This post literally mentions, in the first paragraph, that Bushnell thought that Carrie and Big were wrong together.
Here are her comments from a previous interview : “Well, I think, in real life, Carrie and Big wouldn’t have ended up together. But at that point the TV show had become so big. Viewers got so invested in the storyline of Carrie and Big… when people are making a TV show, it’s show business, not show art, so at that point it was for the audience and we weren’t thinking about what the impact would be 10 years later.” This doesn’t sound like being “all about drama with Big” to me.
I might be wrong but it’s the impression of Bushnell I got from everything I’ve read about her and her social life.
I might be wrong but it’s the impression of Bushnell I got from everything I’ve read about her and her social life.
Single women tend to hang out with single women because they’re tired of hearing married women bitching about that good man they settled with.
I never watched SATC so I only have two things to offer:
1. I thought that was Mira Sorvino for a moment
2. Whenever someone someone brings up SATC, I think of the episode of Family Guy where Brian has to watch an episode (I had to do some things in West Quahog I’m not proud of) and he says “So this is about three hookers and their mom?”.
I don’t mean it as a slam, it just cracks me up.
I think Samantha’s character carried that show. Then, they made her a hot mess in the movies. I am glad she is pulling the plug on it. And well, she can actually act!
As for Carrie… my views about her changed a lot… She deserved Mr. Big as she was not ready for a mature and healthy relationship. Aiden was too good for her. I am not interested in watching the reruns, let alone a third movie…
I love how I remember watching the show and everyone wanted to be “a Carrie,” but Carrie was the absolute WORST upon rewatching. She was a terrible partner in relationships, only wanted emotionally unavailable men, and she was an awful friend. Every time her friends had a problem, which were usually real problems, Carrie turned them into being about her petty nonsense issues that she tended to create for herself. I was so disgusted when I rewatched… particularly when Carrie shamed Charlotte into giving her her engagement ring to sell so she could buy her apartment back because she was so financially stupid that she would blow all of her money on clothes, bags, and shoes that she couldn’t afford.
Or that time when she sent Aidan to help Miranda when she hurt her neck and she was lying naked on her bathroom floor? I think she was with another guy at the time. smh.
Or when she was a bossy annoying PIA when they went to Atlantic City, made Charlotte not have a drink with those guys then dumped her to eat taffy with her gob wide open. Don’t get me started on her squeal which sounds like a rat in a trap…
Carrie and Big together was perfect, since they couldn’t go on to mess with any other lives with overly dramatic relationships.
Also, I always thought Bushnell most resembled the drama queen lady that fell out the window.
I always like Aidan. He was the only one to ever question her, push back a bit. And he seemed to have genuine feelings towards her.
Aidan grated on my nerves, but again it wasn’t my adult era, so he seemed that way for a teenaged mind. I don’t know what he would appear like to me now.
I think it would’ve been exciting for Carrie to end up alone as a sting successful businesswoman. Then a new male character comes into her life (after a few funny short term in betweens). The show could’ve gone a longer and had more seasons and movies. They didn’t have the foresight they’d want to continue the show?
Isn’t the real life Aidan dating Bo Derek? That’s a reality show I’d pay to watch!!!
I agree to the reality show bit. 🙂
The worst thing about Big was that he was supposedly not the marrying kind and then he went and married SOMEONE ELSE. And had to tell Carrie intimate details! That’s beyond cold.
Yes and at least that was believable as opposed to him running through the streets of Paris into Carrie’s arms. Cringeworthy and so dumb.
I think Carrie was very relatable with her flaws, vulnerability, and unconventional looks. Agree she should never have ended up with Big, that ending gave false hope to all the women who are dating unavailable men!!
Carrie was the most selfish, self serving person. I couldn’t STAND her. Loved all the other characters. Carrie didn’t care about anyone and her cutesy comments made me ill. There was nothing about her character I liked. Aiden, I always felt was clingy and emotionally manipulative. He was nice but a head case as well. Big was at least real. Hey this is me, take it or leave it. Carrie was just a sh*tty person.
I could only stomach Carrie because SJP is a likable person, but that character had lots of irritating flaws. I also loved the other women.
I also find it peculiar that they are trying to throw Kim Catrall under the bus. Considering how much money each movie made I doubt any of her “demands” were so outrageous they couldn’t write them into a contract. She probably just had enough of the bullshit script that made her character act like a total lunatic.
SJP on the other hand is a good actress but the girl is a money grabber. She does everything under the sky to make an extra buck. She only recently admitted she understands why people complained about the Moroccan nightmare but didn’t fail to mention how much money it still made as if that is the only real way to judge a movie.
Well, to be fair, Hollywood success fundamentally comes down to money. I think I remember reading SJP grew up in a financially strained family and that deep down she would always be anxious about money.
Berger has always made me uncomfortable. He reminds me of my first serious boyfriend. So insecure and hostile. I fast forward through a lot of Berger’s scenes on the show.
ME TOO! i can’t watch his episodes…can’t do it. flashbacks.
I agree, though it seemed clear he was broken, unavailable, and terrified after his live-in girlfriend cheated on him and broke his heart. The actor communicated that well, and I felt sorry for him.
I agree with the Berger character- real tribute to the actor to play an a&$ so effectively!
I loved Aiden as well. My favorite scene of his is when Carrie is insisting he forgive her(?!) for cheating and he screams at her “YOU BROKE MY HEART”. That was an amazing scene.
Aidan was the right boyfriend, but Carrie was the wrong woman. I’d have given him my number in a heartbeat.
Also, can I just say that fans of the tv series should consider reading the book. It has depth the tv series lacked.
Definitelly, Berger, that was an a*s!