In a revealing interview with Variety, And Just Like That writers Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsky unpacked the emotional weight behind Carrie Bradshaw and Aidan Shaw’s definitive breakup in Season 3, Episode 9, “Present Tense.” The episode, now streaming on HBO Max, marks the end of a romance that has been both a balm and a burden for Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), as she grapples with love, trust, and the lingering ghosts of her past.
The dissolution of Carrie and Aidan’s relationship was a long time coming—built on a foundation of unresolved pain from their Sex and the City days, compounded by the challenges of long-distance and Aidan’s lingering distrust. The final fight, erupting in the middle of a New York street, was a collision of old wounds and new frustrations. “We wanted them both to have a strong argument—to walk away knowing they gave it everything,” Rottenberg explained. The writers, who also penned Aidan and Carrie’s original breakup in Sex and the City’s Season 4, knew the stakes. “We’ve been writing these characters for so long that we know all of their Achilles’ heels,” Rottenberg said. “The fight you have is the same fight, again and again.”
Carrie’s evolution since her 30s was central to the breakup’s emotional resonance. “I moved mountains and apartments,” she tells Aidan during their argument—a line that underscores her growth but also highlights the irreconcilable differences between them. Zuritsky noted that the question driving this season was, “Is love enough?” The answer, it seems, is no—not when history, distance, and personal baggage create what Rottenberg called an “untenable situation.” The writers were determined to avoid repeating past mistakes, ensuring neither character betrayed the other. “We didn’t want anyone to be the villain,” Zuritsky said. “It’s just an intractable situation, like their final breakup on Sex and the City: ‘There are some walls you can push through, and some you can’t.’”
Fan reactions to And Just Like That have been a constant undercurrent in the writers’ room. Rottenberg acknowledged the passionate, often polarized responses to Carrie’s choices, describing it as a “Rorschach test” that reveals more about the audience than the characters. “People feel, That’s not my Carrie,” she said. Zuritsky, who initially devoured every piece of criticism, admitted to developing a thicker skin over time. “Season 1, I was raw. Season 2, I backed away. Now, I’m fascinated,” she said, likening the experience to observing cultural patterns in a laboratory.
The decision to reignite Carrie and Aidan’s romance in Season 3—after their five-year hiatus agreement in Season 2—was contentious. Rottenberg argued that Aidan’s abrupt proposal was born from panic (after his son’s drug scare) and ultimately unsustainable. “They love each other. They’re going to be in touch,” she said. But that very promise became the relationship’s undoing, as the weight of their unresolved issues resurfaced.
As for what’s next for Carrie, the writers teased a return to her roots—solitude, friendship, and her writing. The episode’s closing moments, set to Taylor Swift’s “How Did It End?,” struck a hopeful note, with Carrie walking through the city alone but not broken. “We didn’t want her curled up in bed,” Zuritsky said. “We wanted her moving forward.” Rottenberg added that no breakup on the show is complete without the women reuniting. “That’s the foundation,” she said. “That’s the love affair.”
The interview, edited for clarity, offered a rare glimpse into the creative process behind one of television’s most enduring—and debated—romances. And while Carrie and Aidan’s story may finally be over, the writers made one thing clear: in the world of And Just Like That, friendship remains the ultimate happy ending.
The Pop Blog general news and updates, mostly from press releases and conferences.