I miss watching Sex And The City characters Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte navigate the New York dating pool, especially now that I am living here. There are so many advances with dating that the show never covered before it ended, like texting and online dating. It would be great to see Carrie Bradshaw on a Tinder date.
However, I've been watching Carrie and Co. since middle school and there is a lot to be learned about dating, sex and love. If you're like me, Carrie Bradshaw has been there to answer your most valuable dating questions. She messed up almost all of her relationships, dated many wrong guys and taught us all so many things about the world of love (but mainly single girl dating). Granted nothing she ever did was the right choice, which maybe helped some of us with our personal relationships asking ourselves, "What would Carrie do?" Then doing the exact opposite.
Growing up I looked to Carrie Bradshaw for advice on how to date because my mother was no help on the subject and my friends were and are as clueless as I am. Some of the lessons I learned were obvious and others were things I never saw coming, but here are 18 love, sex, relationship and dating lessons I learned from Sex and The City.
Photo: We Heart It
1. Don't cheat on people!
Honestly, I think Carrie would tell you that cheating on Aiden was the worst mistake ever. Does it infuriate anyone else that she chooses Big over Aiden? Aiden was so much better.
Photo: HBO
2. Once a cheater, always a cheater.
I bet you if we still had a daily view into the life of Mr. Big and Mrs. Big, he would be cheating on Carrie. If he's willing to cheat on one wife with you then he will cheat on you too.
Photo: HBO
3. Sometimes you have to pick your heart.
Okay, yes, I have a weird hatred toward Big (because I'm such a Miranda), but Carrie was right about one thing: Sometimes you have to let your heart decide. Your brain is always going to make you pick the smart decision, and while 95 percent of the time that's great, the other 5 percent needs to win sometimes too.
Photo: HBO
4. He's just not that into you.
For real though, if he likes you, he will call you. He will also try to see you. If not, then it's time to move on. He didn't lose his phone or your number or get too busy at work to call. Period.
Photo: HBO
5. On-and-off relationships ...
... Literally are the worst. Just look at Carrie, she's always whining and complaining and never happy because she just never knows how long her and Big will last. You can bet that in real life, 10 years of back and forth will never end in marriage. At least not in a long, happy one.
Photo: HBO
6. Perfect weddings don't lead to perfect marriage.
Just ask Charlotte. Her awful wedding led to a great marriage. So, don't make your wedding day the basis of your marriage. Things will go wrong.
Photo: HBO
7. Don't lie to your friends.
If you are lying to your friends about sleeping with someone or dating someone (like an ex) then you shouldn't be doing it. You know you shouldn't because if it was the right thing to do, it wouldn't be a secret.
Photo: HBO
8. Stick to your dealbreakers!
If there is a quality that you can't get past in a person, cut your losses. No really, if you're extremely religious you will never get over if the person you're dating is an atheist. Big dealbreakers should be kept, hence the name "dealbreakers."
Photo: HBO
9. Have sex before marriage!
Did Trey and Charlotte teach you nothing? Impotence is no laughing matter. Sorry, but I've actually met a woman who told me if she'd slept with her husband before marriage she wouldn't have married him. It’s important.
Photo: HBO
10. Don't move for anyone else.
If you've got something lined up wherever your S.O. is going, okay, fine. But you don't quit your job and relocate your life when you're just dating someone. Even if it is Paris.
Photo: HBO
11. Just say no to a golden shower.
Even people who seem put together and great can have really weird interests and fetishes. Just say no to a golden shower. Also, I didn’t know what a golden shower was until SATC came along. Serious life lessons in this show.
Photo: HBO
12. Get tested for STDs!
No really, Samantha was like 40 years old when she got tested for the first time. Who the hell was her high school health teacher? #fail. Also, she had to have had an STD by that point, because that's just absurd.
Photo: HBO
13. The most important relationship is the one you have with you.
Knowledge bomb. Dropped. You really have to be all good with yourself in order to find the right person. You can't rely on someone else to fix yourself.
Photo: HBO
14. How to identify a Gay-Straight Man.
Sometimes you just can't tell whether a man is gay or straight, but like Charlotte, I just ask. No really, first thing I asked me ex was if he was straight. Sometimes you just don't know.
Photo: HBO
15. There's always baggage.
Everyone has a pile of baggage, but it's up to you whether or not you can handle someone else's big "but."
Photo: HBO
16. You probably can't be friends with your ex.
I'll admit, some people maybe years and years after the fact and maintain a friendship, but if you're trying to be friends with an ex a week after hooking up with them, it's not going to happen.
Photo: HBO
17. Don't break up with someone on a Post-It!
I think in this time period it's kind of like dumping someone in a text message, but either way … don't do it.
Photo: HBO
18. You can still get pregnant if the guy has just one ball.
Just because a dude has one testicle, doesn't mean one of those little guys can't get in there. Noted.
Photo: HBO
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