Brothers of the Vine
Forever Evermore
Women of W.A.R.
Sex and the City is THE iconic dating show, spanning across 6 seasons, 2 feature-length movies, and 1 season of the spinoff And Just Like That. And (almost) every episode centered around the quirky men that the four woman dated across the years, from a Comic Book Store owner who lived with his parents, to a Politician with a sexual proclivity.
Now you’re probably thinking, ‘but oh my god there are so many men to cover between the girls!’. You’re right. So that’s why today, I will be covering the 22 men Carrie Bradshaw’s character dated throughout the 6 seasons. Not by the time they had with Carrie/on screen, but rather the personality/potential I think they would have had if they were kept around longer. Will I be inserting my own preferences/ experiences with men alike that might cloud my judgment? Yes. But this is a cause I feel very passionate about.
Here they are, from worst to best.
P.S check out our other Sex and the City content here
23. Seth, played by Jon Bon Jovi
Look I love Jon Bon Jovi as much as the next person. However, I cannot stand for a man who admits he looses interest after sleeping with a woman. Are you destined to be alone forever then? Bonus points for being honest at least?
22. Sam played by Timothy Olyphant
Look he wasn’t all that bad. He was 20 and Carrie was in her younger man slay era (good for her) but he didn’t have toilet paper in his apartment. Deal breaker. Next!
21. Wade played by Cane Peterson
Wade was very short lived (but fun-ish?). Fun, but not boyfriend material that’s for sure. To put the nail in the coffin, his mum found weed in her house and Wade blamed it on Carrie! But we know our girl only smokes Marlboros!
20. Patrick Casey played by Richard Joseph Paul
Patrick was actually pretty sweet before it all went down. He was going on 11 months sober from his alcohol addiction and planned to refrain from bedtime activities until the 12 month too. But, Carrie convinced him otherwise and the way she reacted afterwards sent him into a big spiral. He got drunk (and semi-nude) in her street calling out her name. I still wonder how the future ended up for Patrick.
19. Jake played by Bradley Cooper
He was a hottie but he was a playboy who wanted to piggyback off of Carrie’s publicity during their short-lived affair. He also locked her inside of his car when she wanted to leave- manipulative and not okay.
18. Howie Halberstein played by Bryan Callen
Howie seemed okay at first, but he quickly proved us all wrong after he completely humiliated Carrie in front of an entire wedding, and this was after he gave her a rather *bad* time in the bedroom.
17. Keith Travers played by Vince Vaughn
My love for Vince is not enough to rank him any better. But I hate liars! He lied about his job to seem richer or more *powerful* when really he was an assistant, using his boss’s houses to win over women. There’s nothing wrong with being an assistant, but lying is a red flag! What else was he going to lie about?
16. Kurt Harrington, played by Bill Sage
Honestly he should have been ranked first, but he was our first introduction to Carrie’s dating life at the very beginning of the show. He was a bit of a player but he was great in bed and honestly, you can’t have it all sometimes.
15. John McFadden played by Dean Winters
John actually wasn’t so bad, he was just pretty boring. His red flag is that he ran the other way when our girl Carrie wanted to get serious. His loss!
14. John James Preston (Mr. Big) played by Chris Noth
Look I know they are the endgame in the movie, and I know people and relationships are not simple. Carrie and Mr. Big’s personality and love languages were so different that it resulted in massive miss-communication. He only ever went back to Carrie when he had a moment to be lonely, refused to lock it down yet proposed to his young model girlfriend after a few months. Even after being engaged, he still started an affair with Carrie! (if they’ll do it with you, they’ll do it to you!). Does Mr. Big remind me of a failed, toxic ex situationship? Yes. For that reason he’s smack-bang in the middle of my ranking.
13. Bill Kelley played by John Slattery
I rank him higher than Mr. Big because he worked harder to get Carrie but it was a little too pushy. Carrie did succumb to persistent advances eventually and the two actually worked well together. However, Bill was a politician and as soon as this was revealed my first thought was ‘this won’t bode well politically since Carrie writes a sex column. Sure enough when Carrie very gently tried to redirect a sexual kink he had that she was not comfortable in partaking in, he pulled the ‘your sex column doesn’t look good on me’. Next!
12. Ray played by Craig Beirko
Honestly justice for Ray. He was an odd fellow, who was quite out of sorts but he was a man of music and culture. Not boyfriend material for Carrie but honestly he could be it for someone with the same interests and lifestyle!
11. Gilles played by Ed Fry
Now Gilles did literally mistake Carrie for a sex worker and left her $1,000 after their night together. He was very handsome, foreign and most importantly, rich. His hefty sum payed for the girls’ brekky the next day so that’s a win in my book.
10. Jeremy played by David Duchovny
Who doesn’t love an old flame love plot? Especially a rekindling of a high school sweet heart! Jeremy was a top bloke but there was one problem. Jeremy was living in Connecticut. Distance makes the heart grow fonder? Apparently not for Carrie, so it didn’t work out.
9. Jack Berger played by Ron Livingston
Jack was one of those roller-coaster toxic relationships that aren’t great for the mind, but great for personal development. Carrie and Jack were both writers and seemed to have a lot in common. Jack’s red flags however were bright red. He was overtly jealous (and not in a protective, sexy way), and had fresh ex-girlfriend baggage that no one wants to encounter.
Also the post it note. Never forgive. Never forget.
8. Sean played by Eddie Cahill
Sean and Carrie were never going to work out. He is however, so my type (and my age) so that is why I’ve ranked him number 9. Sean was a bisexual man with a pretty boy face. Sean’s *very* close friendship/ex circle was too much for Carrie so she quietly made her escape.
7. Joe played by Mark Devine
Joe was a total babe. Famous Yankee player, charming and definitely vibed with Carrie. Mr. Big as usual had to sweep back in and ruin it all (shocker). I’ll admit I believe in the stereotype that famous sports players are hard to lock down/ keep loyal. So perhaps long-term it was the right course of action.
6. Vaughn Wysel played by Justin Theroux
Carrie does love to collect writers but then again, they are in abundance in New York City. I do believe Carrie was more in love with his family than she was into him. She formed a really good friendship with his mum (which is always the hardest part of the breakup) but Vaughns’ inability to *perform* in the bedroom was enough for Carrie to say goodbye.
5. Aleksandr Petrovsky played by Mikhail Baryshnikov
Did him and Carrie look too much alike? Yes. I loved that he was a Russian dancer, a nice change from the writers Carrie liked to frequent. Aleksandr was a romantic who showed Carrie a good time. At the end of the day however, Aleksandr was not interested in having any more children due to his career coming first. This ultimately once again, was the nail in the coffin for Carrie.
4. Dr Bradley Meego played by Patrick Meen
Dr. Bradley was a Hamptons holiday fling but honestly he had so much potential. He was persistent and keen on Carrie (but not too much). He was sweet (and hello had a holiday home). Carrie once again, was the issue here.
3. Jeremiah played by Sam Ball
Ugh once again, a total hottie Carrie passed up due to Mr. Big. Good looking, a smoker (green flag for Carrie), tatted up and kind. I feel like Jeremiah could have been end game, him and Carrie had the perfect dynamic but of course Mr. Big had to come back into the picture.
2. Ben played by Ian Khan
If I’m just going off the short amount of time Ben was around, I’d say he’s perfect. They had the nicest meet cute in the park and he was a magazine editor! Perfect for Carrie. Our girl Carrie of course to ruin this one by refusing to believe there was nothing wrong with him (but like, same). She rummaged through all his things to the point where she was trying to pry open a locked wooden box. Ben of course, came back home suddenly and saw her doing so. Ugh.
1. Aidan Shaw played by John Corbett
Ahhhh Aidan. I can’t lie, I did get a little teary when they broke up. Of course Carrie ruined it by having an affair with Mr. Big. Part of me wished she never told Aidan about the affair (as wrong as that sounds). He was perfect, kind, loved Carrie to beyond. He was extremely thoughtful, he even made Charlotte a piece of furniture as a wedding gift. He also had a dog!!! His emotions when they parted ways (which he did maturely considering what happened) made me tear up.
And at the end of the day… none of the man rank as highly as Carrie’s girls Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda!