Carrie Bradshaw’s love story with Aidan comes to a sad end in And Just Like That… season 3

Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrie Bradshaw bids farewell to her love interest in the Sex and the City spinoff, And Just Like That.... During the third season, fans see Carrie break up with Aidan Shaw for the third time in the last two decades, although not many fans are disheartened about the breakup.

For the unversed, Aidan became Carrie's lover after breaking up with Mr. Big in the original series. Their romance was introduced in the third season of the original run, but a cheating scandal ruined their relationship — Carrie cheated on Aidan. He tried to make it work, but it turns out that the betrayal and trust issue from that incident would bleed its way to their eventual breakup in the spinoff show.

Mirroring the events of the original series, Carrie Bradshaw initially reconnected with Aidan after Mr. Big died in And Just Like That... season 1. This time, Carrie is grieving her husband, and Aidan is no longer married, experiencing his own hardships with his kids. While love could have been sweeter the second time around, as mentioned, their decades-old issue reared its ugly head.

Disclaimer: This article contains some spoilers for And Just Like That... season 3. Reader's discretion is advised.

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Why did Carrie Bradshaw and Aidan Shaw break up in And Just Like That... season 3?

In And Just Like That... season 3 episode 9, titled Past Tense, Carrie and Aidan ditched what would be a romantic lunch at their favorite New York cafe to have a blowout but honest fight on the sidewalk. While some may have shared some hopes that Carrie Bradshaw and Aidan Shaw would finally find their happy ever after during their reunion, that dream was squashed in the revival's recent episode.

Aidan admitted that he's bothered by Carrie's close friendship with Duncan (Jonathan Cake), her author neighbor. It stirred up long-buried trust issues from when she cheated on him with Mr. Big (Chris Noth) in the original series. It turns out that even after decades, he was still affected by Carrie's betrayal.

Meanwhile, Carrie got offended by Aidan's insecurity about her fidelity. She pointed out that Aidan himself recently admitted to sleeping with his ex-wife and that she did everything to make their long-distance relationship with him work while he remained in Virginia, where his sons are.

Old wounds proved to be fatal in Carrie Bradshaw and Aidan Shaw's romance. Their heated exchange led to a mutual decision to end their relationship. No one expected their relationship to be doomed to fail, as Aidan said in one of his parting words:

"I'm sad. I really thought we were going to make it this time."

It was their third breakup in the Sex and the City universe. The first one was in season 3 of the original series, after Carrie Bradshaw's cheating scandal. The second breakup happened in season 4 after Carrie realized that Aidan, who was her fiancé then, after they reunited, still couldn't get over her infidelity, after he suggested that they elope.

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And Just Like That... writers talk about Carrie Bradshaw's recent breakup with Aidan Shaw

Writing duo Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky wrote Sex and the City season 4's Change of Dress episode, which featured Carrie and Aidan's second breakup. They returned in the revival show's third season to write the couple's third breakup. In an interview with Variety, published on July 24, 2025, Rottenberg and Zuritsky discussed what went down in season 3 episode 9.

Rottenberg said that they wanted to give both characters "the best shot to make it work." And while it seemed like an untenable situation, given who the characters have grown into and their current situations, they still wanted to give their breakup some justice. She said:

"We wanted them both to have a strong argument—to be able to walk away and say, 'I gave it everything I could, and it didn't work.'"

Zuritsky added that one of the questions they had while building up the season was, 'Is love enough?' And in Carrie Bradshaw and Aidan Shaw's case, it doesn't appear that love is enough to sustain their relationship.

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And Just Like That... is currently streaming on HBO Max. New episodes of season 3 arrive on the streaming platform every Thursday.