Aidan or Mr Big.. who gets your vote?

Carrie’s love interests split opinion among female viewers of the hit show. So, did you prefer her reliable nice guy or the flashy city slicker? Here, two fans give their verdicts on who won the show’s battle of the boyfriends

Our writers argue the case for Carrie’s boyfriends: Mr Nice Guy and City Slicker

AIDAN Shaw, the good-natured furniture designer Carrie meets at an exhibition in his studio, was everything Big wasn’t. Happy. Contented. Caring. Relaxed. Emotionally available.

He wore a denim shirt and had a big woofy dog called Pete.

He was much more handsome than Big although the long hair and the leather jewellery wasn’t such a big attraction. But his style got better as the series went on.

Big was arrogant and aloof. Everything was on his terms, whereas Aidan always wanted to spend time with Carrie.

When the apartments in her block were up for sale, he bought the one next door and started knocking through the walls.

It was a sign of his commitment to her – it was where she wanted to live and they would have lived there together. And he was ready and willing to do all the DIY.

Not that Carrie appreciated him. When she found the engagement ring he’d bought her, she hated it so much that she threw up. My heart broke for him.

Life with Aidan appealed to me much more than life with Mr Big. I love dogs. I’ve got a golden retriever, so country weekends away and long walks are right up my street. But Carrie struggled with that, being away from the cocktails.

Aidan wanted to introduce her to his parents and give her marriage and kids. It’s human nature to want to find a mate.

In real life, a lot of women would go for Aidan rather than Big. But Carrie was narcissistic. She enjoyed the emotional drama with Big and loved it when he came back into her life.

He moved to Paris– not tellilng her until the last minute – then came back engaged. That, to me, was unforgiveable.

Everyone has flaws. I probably wouldn’t have got on a motorbike when I was going to a fancy party and had just had my hair done.

Nobody’s perfect. But Aidan was just a really, really nice guy.

Aidan was everything Big wasn’t. He was just a nice guy

ALISON TOGHER ON TEAM AIDAN

Big’s was old enough to be cool and worldly without being jaded ANNA BURNSIDE ON TEAM BIG

CARRIE’S relationship with Big was the whole point of Sex and the City.

From their first meeting, where she dropped her bag on the street and he helped her pick up her lipgloss and condoms, their on-off-on-off-off-on love affair was the central storyline.

Whether he was in Paris, Napa or a few blocks away, Big was the standard by which all Carrie’s other admirers were judged.

He was old enough to be cool and worldly without being jaded and well into a mid-life crisis.

The car and driver, spacious apartment decorated in manly monochrome and sharp suits made it clear he was loaded, although the source of his wealth was never made clear.

His romantic gestures, while rare, hit the spot. Giving Carrie the pink head for his electric toothbrush. Singing her a Frank Sinatra song in his favourite Italian restaurant. Asking a question at her book launch. Even when he got it wrong, it was very relatable.

At one point, he presented her with a repulsive jewelled swan clutch bag, the kind all the uptown business ladies use when they’re trying to be groovy.

It was a great comedy moment that showed he did not get the nuances of Carrie’s unique style. He saw her Fendi baguettes and wackball headscarves and assumed that she would like a novelty accessory in the shape of a bird.

But – and it’s a big but – Big adored Carrie, even if he did take a long time to realise it.

He summed it up when he ambushed her in the coffee shop where she was writing a column about men who date models. He said that models are lovely and hot but eventually, you just want to be with someone who makes you laugh.

And that is why Big wins at being Carrie’s boyfriend. He could have had his pick of the most beautiful women in Manhattan. Eventually, though, he chose one with bonkers hair, who wears a bra to bed and has more shoes than sense. Big did not always behave well. He talked on the phone while Carrie recited a poem at a wedding. He married a vanilla rich girl. But he did it all with such a saucy eyebrow and cheeky smirk that Carrie forgave him. And so do I.