Why Kristin Davis Never Married, Unlike Her 'Sex And The City' Character

Here's a delicious irony that feels almost too perfect to be true: the actor who spent six seasons and two films desperately seeking her happily-ever-after as Charlotte York is the only Sex and the City — and its sequel, And Just Like That — star who never walked down the aisle in real life. While Charlotte obsessed over finding 'the one' (eventually landing her fictional fairy tale ending with Harry Goldenblatt), Kristin Davis was quietly orchestrating a completely different kind of love story – one that didn't require a ring or a registry.

'I'm not married. I've never been married. It's not my thing,' Davis declared with characteristic frankness on the Best Friend Energy podcast in 2023. 'I was never focused on it. It was never like a goal, let's say.' For an actor who spent years perfecting Charlotte's wedding-obsessed character, it's a revelation that's both surprising and utterly refreshing.

The disconnect between actor and character required some serious method acting. 'That took some acting... It really did,' Davis admitted about Charlotte's marriage fixation. Though she did confess to loving filming Charlotte's first wedding: 'I'm not really a wedding girl but... Charlotte loved it, so I loved it.'

Who Has Kristen Davis Dated?

Davis's own romantic history reads like a who's who of accomplished men: Alec Baldwin (ironically, Sex and the City creator Darren Star's original choice for Mr. Big), Liev Schreiber, Damian Lewis, Aaron Sorkin, and basketball star Rick Fox. Yet none of these high-profile relationships led to the altar, and Davis has admitted in previous interviews that she feels perfectly content with that outcome.

Growing up in the South, where 'all everyone talked about was marriage,' Davis always felt like a square peg in a round hole. 'All I wanted was to move to New York and do theatre,' she explained. 'I felt rebellious about it. When I was young I thought that marriage seemed like the patriarchy.'

Her approach to dating these days is refreshingly honest about what doesn't work for her. 'I'm not interested in the small talk, I find it boring. I just want to cut to the deep stuff, and they don't always want to do that. And then... I'm just terrible at casual sex.'

But Davis's most profound love story isn't romantic – it's maternal. In 2011, at the age of 46, she adopted daughter Gemma Rose, followed by son Wilson in 2018. 'Having this wish come true is even more gratifying than I ever had imagined,' she said about motherhood. 'I feel so blessed.'

Davis has been thoughtful about raising Black children, acknowledging her responsibility to ensure they remain connected to their cultural heritage: 'I work at that every day, trying to figure out how I can make sure they have access to the Black community, that they're part of it, that they're not separated from it.'

Davis may have taken a radically different path from Charlotte York, but there's something beautifully subversive about the star who played the most traditional SATC character choosing the most unconventional life.

Part one of the And Just Like That season three finale will be available to watch on August 8 on NOW TV.

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Naomi May

Digital Editor

Naomi May is a seasoned culture journalist and editor with over ten years’ worth of experience in shaping stories and building digital communities. After graduating with a First Class Honours from City University's prestigious Journalism course, Naomi joined the Evening Standard, where she worked across both the newspaper and website. She is now the Digital Editor at ELLE Magazine and has written features for the likes of The Guardian, Vogue, Vice and Refinery29, among many others. Naomi is also the host of the ELLE Collective book club.