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Carrie Bradshaw had two great loves and a couple of other long-term romances in Sex and the City. She also had a host of other dating failures. In the pile of discarded love interests, there were a few gems.

Here are Carrie Bradshaw’s three most underrated love interests; she could have really made it work with these men. 

Carrie briefly dated Ben, and frankly, he seemed perfect 

Carrie Bradshaw had issues with trusting men. That’s what a decade of dating in New York City taught her. Being skeptical is one thing; being paranoid is another. Her lack of trust led her astray in season 2 with a political magazine editor named Ben. In the episode “The Freak Show,” Carrie met Ben while sitting in the park, and the two hit it off pretty well. 

Carrie and Ben sit in front of a fountain in season 2 of 'Sex and the City'
Carrie and Ben | HBO/Netflix

Carrie couldn’t find anything outwardly wrong with Ben, but her paranoia got the best of her. She went snooping. Still, the sex columnist didn’t see a single red flag, but she did get caught raiding his apartment. It led to the end of their brief romance. While Ben only appeared in a single episode, he is one of Carrie’s love interests who showed the most promise.  

Carrie Bradshaw couldn’t handle her love interest’s sexuality 

For a sex columnist, Carrie was awfully close-minded. In the season 3 episode, “Boy, Girl, Boy, Girl,” Carrie dated a younger man named Sean. The couple got along well, and Sean was sweet, empathetic, and irresistibly good-looking. It didn’t seem like there was anything wrong with the 20-something. 

Carrie and Sean in seaosn 3 of 'Sex and the City'
Carrie and Sean | HBO/Netflix

Carrie ended the relationship because she couldn’t handle the fact that Sean was bisexual and maintained friendships with his past partners. While Carrie couldn’t deal with Sean’s sexuality, we think she acted way too hastily. Sean seemed like a nice guy; we are sure he made his next partner very happy. 

Carrie Bradshaw briefly dated a Yankee 

While Sean and Ben were nice, down-to-earth guys, they were not the most underrated of Carrie Bradshaw’s love interests. That accolade goes to Joe, better known to Sex and the City fans as “the new Yankee.” 

Mark Devine as Carrie Bradshaw's season 2 love interest, Joe 'The New Yankee'
Joe ‘The New Yankee’ in ‘Sex and the City’ | HBO/Netflix
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Joe was a good guy with an unbelievable smile and plenty of charisma. Carrie managed to snag a date with the baseball player right after his game. He seemed thrilled to take out the columnist. They would have made a great power couple if Carrie hadn’t been hung up on Mr. Big. Joe had all of the markings of a great love for Carrie. He was handsome and charismatic, and he had the New York celebrity status that drew Carrie to characters like Mr. Big. He probably made a fair bit of cash, too. We think they could have made it work if they had met at a different point.