Candace Bushnell has given fans a glimpse into her dating life, which she described as “crazy”.
The Sex and The City author, who drew inspiration from her own life to write the iconic character of Carrie Bradshaw, revealed that there was a time she dated two men who were 70 years apart in the same week.
Bushnell, 62, told Us Weekly: “You know, I have so many crazy dating adventures. I mean, one week I dated a guy who was 21 and a guy who was 91.
“Nobody tells you this is gonna happen. Like, that age range is going to be 60 years.”
The writer’s column for the New York Observer was adapted into the bestselling Sex and The City anthology, which later was adapted to the HBO hit series of the same name, starring Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie.
However, Bushnell said there weren’t actually that many similarities between her and the character she created.
“I don’t feel like the character is me. I didn’t marry a rich man. I didn’t marry Mr Big. But I’m single again. I’m dating, I have been for a while. And I’m always working and coming up with new ideas. I’m about being your own Mr Big, as I like to say,” she said.
In the first Sex and the City movie, Carrie marries John James Preston, who is better known as “Mr Big” and played by Chris Noth. The fictional couple were set to marry in a lavish, traditional wedding ceremony, which Big calls off, leaving Carrie heartbroken.
However, by the end of the film, they reconcile and marry in a smaller, more intimate ceremony.
Meanwhile, Bushnell was married to US ballet dancer Charles Askegard from 2002 to 2012.
Candace Bushnell attends a special screening of Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 on May 03, 2023— (Getty Images for Disney)
Three years after their divorce, she reflected on how differently married people are treated compared to those who are single.
In an interview with the Guardian, she said: “When I finally got married, a prominent female editor came up to me and said, ‘You’ll see. Now you’re married, life is going to get a whole lot better’.
“In a way, she was right. When you’re married, people don’t have to figure you out. You’re in a slot everyone understands and you do ‘couple things’ and it’s easier to get a mortgage. It’s like you feel safe to other people.”
After she separated from Askegard, things changed for Bushnell dramatically. She recalled: “When I got divorced, I couldn’t get a mortgage; I didn’t fit into a computer model. All of a sudden, I was invited to no more couple things. Being single is hard and there’s something a bit heroic about it.”
Bushnell is currently promoting her one-woman show, True Tales of Sex, Success and Sex and the City.
