Carrie and Aidan Weren’t Going to ‘Survive’ This Time, Producers Say

Warning: This post contains spoilers for And Just Like That… season 3.

Things are over between Carrie and Aidan — for good.

In the July 24 episode of And Just Like That…, Aidan (John Corbett) admitted that he has trust issues with Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker), which date back to her cheating on him in Sex and the Citywith Big (Chris Noth), but have been reignited by her closeness with her neighbor Duncan (Jonathan Cake).

It was a total affront in her eyes, particularly given the fact that he had just made the same mistake and slept with his ex-wife, and the revelation led to their split.

Carrie told him she “was 100% in” after having “moved mountains and apartments” for him, and delivered one final blow: “I can’t give you any more than I have, and it wasn’t enough.”

The decision to have Aidan and Carrie break up was one made early on in the season’s planning.

“It wasn’t a fiery debate in the room. I think it really came down to the way the previous season ended, with Aidan’s family proving to be such an obstacle,” executive producer Elisa Zuritsky told TVLine of the thought process behind the split.

There was an effort made specifically to see their relationship “in the real world …. take them out of the fantasy Disney prince and princess happy ending that we were kind of playing with in season 2.”

“It did feel like too much to ask of those two people, especially with their baggage,” she said, and executive producer Julie Rottenberg added, “I think we all knew their problems were systemic enough that they would not survive.”

Still, when it came time to film the breakup scene, the writers couldn’t help but wonder if they were making the wrong decision.

They knew that Aidan and Carrie were headed for a split from “pretty early on” in crafting this season, Rottenberg said she “did start to worry” about the choice they’d made as they began to approach filming it.

“I think part of it is Sarah Jessica and John Corbett have such an incredible bond and chemistry and relationship as both actors and as the characters,” she told the outlet.

“I got a little panicky. ‘Should we not be doing this? Should we not be breaking them up?’”

Given the twist, it’s safe to say that Parker will miss working with Corbett.

The actress, 60, told Deadline earlier this season that Corbett, 64, is “the easiest person to work with and play opposite, and I sincerely mean that. I’m really fond of him.”

“He’s famously enthusiastic and energetic. He cares a great deal about every single line. He thinks a lot about it the night before. He’s really committed and delightful, and has such an ease when the camera rolls,” she raved about her costar.

“I’m glad that, even though there was some kind of agreement about a sabbatical, they were both incapable of honoring it because it meant that John Corbett was around a lot. For all of us, that meant really good times and happiness,” she continued. “I think he’s just lovely.”

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New episodes of And Just Like That… drop Thursdays on HBO Max.