Story Arc
Carrie eventually falls in love with him, despite his frequent displays of commitment and intimacy phobias. His runic and reserved communication on relationship issues and Carrie's coping with the ambiguity are a frequent plot device. Carrie repeatedly returns to the relationship even though he is clearly emotionally unavailable to her and unable to meet her needs. They break up repeatedly, over the course of two years for those reasons, before Big marries a gorgeous twenty-six-year-old socialite and Ralph Lauren employee named Natasha (Bridget Moynahan) after dating her for only five months. This hurts Carrie, as she wonders why he could take steps with Natasha that he refused to take with Carrie.
Within seven months of his marriage, he begins to chafe at his matrimonial bonds and pine for Carrie; he initiates an affair with her. Carrie, who is in a committed relationship (with Aidan Shaw) at the time, feels guilty but continues to see Big. The affair continues until Natasha comes home unexpectedly and discovers Carrie fleeing - half dressed - from the marital apartment. Natasha trips and breaks her tooth while chasing after Carrie, who ends up taking Natasha to the emergency room. As a result, Carrie ends the affair. Carrie later finds out that Big and Natasha have divorced.
Big and Carrie eventually manage to become close friends. He relocates to Napa Valley, and they are able to discuss their other ongoing relationships with each other. But their sexual chemistry always remains just below the surface, and their friendship never remains strictly platonic. After reading Carrie's book, Big begins to understand how much he has hurt her, and he empathizes further when a woman he is dating treats him in a fashion similar to the way Big has treated Carrie: at arm's length, eschewing true intimacy.
Read more about this topic: Mr. Big (Sex And The City)
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