Carrie Bradshaw: A Deep Dive Into Her (Mostly Forgotten) Very Beginnings As A Professional Writer – And Why They Matter

If there’s anyone who could ever compare to Taylor Swift’s capabilities as writer, it’s Carrie Bradshaw, the fictional character that was first introduced in 1998 on Sex And The City; portrayed by Sarah Jessica Parker. I wouldn’t even say that they could be compared by their writing capabilities, but rather their writing styles. They both wrote about love; looking for love, finding that love, losing that love, finding love again, and then…falling in love with yourself. It was absolutely astounding to see how far Carrie had come between now and then – still learning and growing as a woman in her 60’s.

While most fans around the world think of Sarah Jessica Parker’s portrayal of Carrie when they think of her as a character, it’s mostly forgotten that AnnaSophia Robb also portrayed Carrie in the prequel series, The Carrie Diaries, which originally aired between 2013 and 2014. It introduced Carrie as a Connecticut teenager with a rebellious kid sister and a harried father, struggling to deal with her mother’s death. Living life as a suburban, Carrie jumped at an opportunity to intern at a Manhattan law firm, where the glamour and the grit of the big city made her feel free and more alive than ever before. When Carrie met Larissa, a style editor at Interview magazine who introduced her to a world of nightclubs and interesting people, she felt inspired and realized there was absolutely no going back; she was meant for New York. In season 2 of the series, it was revealed that Carrie had known Samantha since her teen years, which made their friendship breakup seen in And Just Like That… even more so heartbreaking. Samantha, original played by Kim Cattrall, was portrayed by Lindsey Gort in the prequel series.

Sadly, The Carrie Diaries didn’t get to make much of an impact, and it’s mostly forgotten when discussing anything relating to the Sex And The City world. Critics wrote, ‘AnnaSophia Robb is charming as the lead in The Carrie Diaries, even if this Sex and the City spinoff sometimes suffers from overwrought narration and so-so writing.’ Gail Pennington of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, said of the show, ‘The CW’s attempt to capture the magic of Sex and the City in a prequel, set in 1984, could have gone very wrong. But The Carrie Diaries is surprisingly right.’

I watched the whole show – from beginning to end. I have to say, I liked it. I didn’t love it, but I definitely enjoyed it. I certainly enjoyed it more than I did, or anyone else did for that matter, And Just Like That…It was cute, and it was interesting to see Carrie’s backstory and how she started out as a writer, as well as her life beyond what we knew through Sex And The City. The entire premise of the series was the foundation for Carrie’s future evolution, showcasing her early experiences with love, life, and the ambition that drives her towards the iconic character seen in Sex and the City. 

In the 80’s Carrie was living with her businessman father and her younger sister. She was struggling with grief. We, the few people who watched the show, saw her be a typical teenager, asking her first questions about love, sex, friendship and family. She didn’t have Miranda or Charlotte in her life just yet back then, but she did have Maggie, Jill, and Walt. And before there was Mr. Big, there was Sebastian Kydd. They, too, had an on-again, off-again, tumultuous high school relationship. After their relationship began with a kiss at age 15, they went through several ups and downs, including a brief separation when Sebastian moved away and a kiss between Sebastian and Maggie. They eventually got back together, but broke up for good when Carrie decided to stay in Manhattan for her career, while Sebastian moved to California to start a skateboarding business. To elaborate further:

Key aspects of their relationship

• First Love: Sebastian was Carrie’s first love and first kiss, a significant relationship as she navigated her teenage years. 

• Turbulence: Their relationship was characterized by emotional involvement, drama, and conflict, with frequent misunderstandings and breakups. 

• Maggie’s Kiss: A major obstacle was when Sebastian kissed Maggie, causing a rift in Carrie’s friendships and highlighting the instability of her relationship with Sebastian. 

• Career vs. Relationship: Their final breakup occurred when Carrie chose to pursue her internship and career in New York City, rather than move to California with Sebastian. 

Sebastian, played by Austin Butler, embodied a lot of the same qualities as Mr. Big in the original Sex And The City series. He was good looking, mysterious, and came from wealth – just like Big. He represented a “kid version” or teenage equivalent of Mr. Big, fulfilling a similar role as the enigmatic, desired man in Carrie’s formative years. This became further proof that Aidan Shaw, the other love of Carrie’s life in the original Sex And The City series, as well as in And Just Like That… was never right for Carrie.

During the time Carrie was separated from Sebastian after his cheating, she began a relationship with Adam Weaver, a fellow writer. The relationship between got serious enough for Carrie to feel ready to lose her virginity to him, but eventually, it deteriorated when he became critical of her writing and publishes an unflattering article about her. Something I really admired about Carrie, especially in her younger years, was that she had a zero bullsh*t policy, much like Taylor Swift and the fictional Davin’s Shackleton from Waterloo Road, two subject matters from my two most recent previous blog entries, which you can read right after you read THIS one. She didn’t allow someone like Adam Weaver tell her she wasn’t good enough. She knew she was, and cut out anyone who thought otherwise. It’s a trait that’s so necessary to be successful in a writing career.

Carrie, in her adult years, was fairly known to not be a very good friend. She often judged and prioritized her relationships over her friendships, whereas she herself expected her friends to drop everything and be there for her. There were a number of times in the original Sex And The City series where she proved herself to be a good friend to Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha. Most notably, when Miranda’s mother passed away, as well as when her son was born, when Charlotte miscarried, as well as when she defended her relationship with Harry when Burger judged it, and finally when Samantha was diagnosed with cancer.

Even though supporting her friends didn’t seem like much of a priority for adult Carrie, it certainly was for teenage Carrie. She supported Walt through his self-discovery, particularly his sexuality, and when his Christian parents found out he was gay and kicked him out for it, Carrie provided him her solace and comfort, as well as her home to call his. She was supportive of his relationship with his boyfriend, Bennet, even when it leads to confusion or uncomfortable situations with other friends. In a time when being openly gay was challenging, Carrie and her friends provided Walt with a safe space to express himself and be his true self. Carrie included him in social events, such as taking him to a Halloween party in Manhattan, showing her desire to include him in her life and foster a supportive community for him. 

Following Sebastian cheating with Maggie (twice), Carrie cut all ties with the two people she thought she could trust most. And yet, when Maggie suffered an ectopic pregnancy, Carrie put all her feelings aside and rushed to the hospital to be with her. Maggie required an emergency surgery to remove one of her Fallopian tube. The experience leads Maggie to a deeper understanding of her own worth and the distinction between sex and emotional connection. The father of Maggie’s baby was Simon, one of her father’s employees. He was immediately terminated when her father learned the truth of his daughter’s involvement with him.

Suddenly, Sebastian’s cheating seemed so small in comparison to Maggie almost losing her life. The scary event in Maggie’s life that could’ve potentially been fatal really put things into perspective for Carrie. It made her realize that she still loved Sebastian and wanted to be with him. It made her realize that maybe she could forgive him and trust him again. Luckily, it didn’t take long for Carrie to find him. He was at the hospital too to support Maggie. They sit down together and, finally, have a heart-to-heart; without resentment and anger, mostly the one that came from Carrie. They confess their feelings for one and another and officially get back together.

Quite literally, it seemed as though the relationship between Carrie and Sebastian could go the distance. Sebastian’s confrontation with Simon led to him being expelled from school, and that led to his family insisting that he move to Laguna Beach, California. Though not happy about his newfound situation, Sebastian made the most of it. He started a skateboard clothing business with his friends. It was doing well, and it was something he was proud of. As more time passed, the more his business was taking him away from home; and from Carrie.

Eventually, the skateboard clothing business had Sebastian move to California permanently. This didn’t mean that he didn’t have Carrie on his mind, though, because he did. He wanted Carrie to move to California with him. Carrie, though she initially did consider the possibility of leaving her life behind to move to California for Sebastian, decided not to. She chose to stay in New York and move in with Samantha to work on her writing career. This led to a tearful, final breakup between the two, with both acknowledging their love but deciding to part ways to follow their respective paths: Carrie staying in Manhattan to fulfill her writing dreams, and Sebastian moving to California to continue working on his business and making it a success.

Watching the breakup scene was actually heart-wrenching. They didn’t breakup because of love lost; or because of breaking each other’s trust; or because of misunderstandings. This time, it was life’s circumstances that got in the way of their love story. Time and time again throughout the series, even when he and Carrie weren’t together, Sebastian proved himself to be a genuinely good and caring guy. He constantly made sure that Carrie’s friends were taken care of in times of trouble; not because he had to or because he owed anything to anyone, but simply because he wanted to. As his father said after he confronted Simon to defend Maggie, which resulted in his expulsion, Sebastian is a man that stands up for what’s right.

Carrie and Sebastian gave each other what they each were looking for in a partnership. Carrie was looking for a partner who’d give her comfort and support in a career sphere that was so unknown and judgmental at times. Sebastian was looking for love, affection and respect. He was looking for a sense of belonging; a sense of family. Those are all the things he wasn’t getting at home. Being with family made him feel all those emotions. She made him feel like he was a part of something special. In many ways, their relationship mirrored the relationship between me and my husband. I, too, look for comfort and support as a woman working in the writing sphere where I’m constantly judged for my views and options; and he, too, looks for a sense of belonging; and family; which he has in my family. He didn’t even know what it meant to be part of a family until he became a part of mine.

As they tearfully embraced one last time, Sebastian said to Carrie, ‘Bye Bradshaw,’ whereas Carrie said, ‘Goodbye Kydd,’ before he turned around, possibly for good. He wasn’t ready to know that it was over for good. He wasn’t ready to let her go. Neither was she. But she knew she had, because if she didn’t, she’d leave everything she wanted in her career behind to be with him. That was how much she loved him. That was how much she wanted to be with him. In other words, he said, ‘I’ll see you later.’ She said, ‘No, you won’t.’ And we, all 10 of us who watched The Carrie Diaries, always knew that Carrie wouldn’t end up with Sebastian. We knew that he always meant to just be her high school boyfriend. But it didn’t mean the fact that it hurt any less.

Carrie was always meant to be a writer; a successful writer. She wasn’t going to allow anyone to get in the way of her dreams. Not her boyfriend; not her dad; not anyone. She risked it all. We’ll ignore the fact that Carrie’s backstory in The Carrie Diaries doesn’t align with her backstory in the original Sex And The City series. It was like they were two completely different people with the same name. In The Carrie Diaries, Carrie was reeling from her mother’s death and living with her lawyer father and younger sister. In the original Sex And The City series, Carrie’s father left her family when she was 5 years old and there was absolutely zero mention of her ever having a sister. She also had an entirely different high school boyfriend that she’d mentioned to her friends. The prequel series depicted Carrie meeting Charlotte on a train and Miranda at a department store. Sex and the City and the SATC movies offered a different backstory for their meetings. 

Amy B. Harris, who previously served as a producer on the OG series, previously spoke of the inconsistency between the two versions of Carrie. She told Hollywood Reporter in 2013, ‘I had to tell a version of the story I thought I could write to for not just one episode but for many. We debated a lot about whether or not to include anything about Carrie’s family backstory in [Sex and the City] and we mentioned once [on SATC] that the father had left. It didn’t feel like the right version to me, because the story felt more complicated than a parent leaving, and Candace [Bushnell’s] version [with Carrie’s mom dying] in the book really spoke to me, the idea that she has a good relationship with her father, which is why she’s looking for a certain type of man.

So for the purpose of this particular blog entry, I want to discuss THIS version of Carrie. We already have multiple blog entries on the original Carrie, and I feel the time has come to get to know AnnaSophia Robb’s version better. One thing both have in common is that they, when they’re not lost in love bombing, don’t settle for anything less than they deserve. No matter what they go through, they choose oneself. We saw that when The Carrie Diaries’ Carrie chose to live in New York to make it as a writer over moving to California to be with Sebastian. We saw it in SATC’s Carrie when she refused to marry Aidan when he pressured her to elope. We then saw it in And Just Like That when Carrie (finally) with Aidan after she moved mountains (literally) for him, and she felt like he was taking more than giving in the relationship.

My previous two posts put an emphasis on a woman having a zero bullsh*t tolerance – both career and personal life, as well as the ups and downs that come with it in both aspects of a woman’s life. This is absolutely relevant in Carrie’s life. Adult Carrie allowed men like Big and Aidan to run all over her; to mess with her feelings; to guilt-trip her; to gaslight her; to manipulate her; and even shame her. But not teenage Carrie. Teenage Carrie would never allow anyone to rub all over her – not any partner, friend, family member, etc. This was particularly evident in the season 1 finale. It was exactly when I said to myself that she was a f*cking bada**.

It was when Maggie came to Carrie’s home to tell her of what had happened between her and Sebastian at the bar. They got drunk and passionately kissed. Sebastian was sad that Carrie had broken up with him (yet again), and Maggie was sad because she found out that Walt, whom she dated, was gay. Maggie, feeling guilty for what she’d done to Carrie, tried to explain the situation and why she did what she did. She was so angry with herself, and she just wanted to know that her one mistake wouldn’t cost her the friendship and closeness that she had with Carrie.

But it did. Carrie listened to Maggie’s on and on ramblings that just didn’t seem to stop. And it probably wouldn’t have if Carrie hadn’t interrupted her to tell her what she had to say to her excuses. Carrie told her what others probably wouldn’t have. Not because they didn’t have the guts to, but because they didn’t care. In her speech trying to explain why she did what she did, Maggie said she felt so alone; that she was so scared; and that everything had been way too much for her; that she didn’t know why things kept happening to her.

That was exactly the moment Carrie told her to stop. She couldn’t handle Maggie’s victim mentality; not any longer. Maggie told her she wasn’t trying to make it about her, but Carrie said it was ALWAYS (key word) about her, ever since they were in kindergarten together. In Maggie’s constant need for attention, not once had Carrie judged her. As Maggie listened to Carrie’s words, she was shocked to hear someone say that she was the problem. To defend herself, she said that she didn’t make Walt gay, and that she didn’t have parents who believed in her in the way Carrie’s dad believed in her. She couldn’t help what she’d been through. But Carrie… she wasn’t having it. ‘You’re blaming your past and what you’ve been through to what you did to me,’ she said. ‘You’re not even blaming it. You’re excusing your behaviour. We’ve all been through stuff. Hard stuff. Stuff that made us make choices we might regret. And now, you’re going to have to live with that.’

And Carrie should know. She herself had been through stuff. Whether it’s The Carrie Diaries version of Carrie or the Sex And The City version of Carrie. Whether your parent pass away at a young age or a parent leave the family and never see them again, both events are f*cking hard to deal with. SATC’s version of Carrie probably had daddy issues, which explained why she could never let go of Big, even as he mistreated her, as well as why she tried so hard to please Aidan, even as he took more than he gave in their relationship.

No matter how hard it was for her, Carrie let go of her friendship with Maggie. She was very adamant in her decision; both in the end of her friendship with Maggie and the end of her relationship with Sebastian. He called her; he even came to her house to try to talk to her. But she wouldn’t have it. He then came to her house in New York to try to talk to her, and she still wouldn’t have it. She answered the door this time, and she said to him, through tears, ‘You BROKE me.’ As previously mentioned, Carrie mended things with both Maggie and Sebastian following Maggie’s life-altering ectopic pregnancy.

The relationship between Carrie and Sebastian was so on-and-off, especially in the first season, that it became too exhausting to follow; for me, at least. What wasn’t exhausting to follow was Carrie’s ambition and drive to become a successful writer. She was so determined to make it happen that nothing, and no one, could stop her. In season 2, Carrie and her friends got food poisoning at the hands of Samantha. While all her friends were at her apartment, barely able to move a muscle, Carrie was at a job interview. It didn’t matter to her that she felt ill. She was still going to showcase herself as a professional to others; and she did. By the end of the season, and the series as a whole, Carrie decided not to go to college like she’d previously planned, and take a job in New York instead. Her father was furious at the fact that Carrie wasn’t going to get an education that would allow to provide her some stability in such an unknown world, so he gave her an ultimatum- either she went to get an education like she’d previously planned or she accepted the job and he’d cut her off financially completely. She chose to take the job and live in New York. In a world that was so unknown and scary, she decided to go with her gut instead of what others told her.

The Carrie Diaries was a coming-of-age story; one that was about a young woman trying to figure out her life and future – coming from a small town to a big city, filled with dreams, ambitions, and drive. It was a story that actually NEEDED to be told. As a fan myself, I understand that THIS Carrie was much different than the Carrie that we all got to know in the original Sex And The City series. But somehow, it didn’t matter much. I personally think that if the series wasn’t a prequel to the SATC franchise, it would’ve been much more successful, and we would’ve gotten to see more of Carrie’s story. Her story mattered, even if it was different than that of the original Carrie. Her story offered a relatable, charming, and fashion-forward portrayal of a young, ambitious Carrie Bradshaw, a stark contrast to her later, more flawed Sex and the City persona. 

The Carrie Diaries presented a sweet, naive, and driven teenage Carrie, a far cry from the often-difficult character of Sex And The City. This fresh take allowed fans, all 10 of them, to connect with her in a new way. Unlike the later series, The Carrie Diaries focused on Carrie’s personal goals, her passion for writing, and her journey to achieve her dreams. In my eyes, it was all so much more compelling. The show delivered a compelling coming-of-age story, perfectly capturing the dreams and excitement of a young person yearning for something more in a small town. It emphasized the importance of positive friendships and family relationships, offering a feel-good story with characters you could root for. So to end this blog entry on a powerful note, here are just a few young Carrie quotes we should ALL live by:

• Sometimes I think all the trouble in the world is caused by men. If there were no men, women would always be happy.
• Funny always makes the bad things go away.
• If you smile, even if you’re feeling bad, the action of the muscles will trick your brain into thinking you’re happy.
• Guys are like dogs: they never notice if you’ve changed your hair, but they can sense when there’s another guy sniffing around their territory.
• Whoever we are here, we might be princesses somewhere else. Or writers. Or scientists. Or presidents. Or whatever the hell we want to be that everyone else says we can’t.
• If a woman could take care of herself, would she still need a man? Would she even want one? And if she didn’t want a man, what kind of woman would she be? Would she even be a woman? Because it seemed if you were a woman, the only thing you were really supposed to want was a man.
• The world is full of people who all want the same thing, and you have to do a little something extra to make them remember you.

The End.