'And Just Like That' : Carrie Bradshaw Gives Dating Another Try — But Her Wedding Ring Holds Her Back

Carrie Bradshaw continues to grapple with the death of her husband in episode 9 of the Sex and the City revival

This article contains spoilers for episode nine of And Just Like That...

Reminders of her late husband are continuing to stall Carrie Bradshaw's dating life.

During Thursday's episode of And Just Like That…, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) was preparing to go on a second date with math teacher Peter (Jon Tenney), after they were both disastrously overserved on their first night out.

"It is a do-over between two people who got sick on one another," Carrie told Charlotte (Kristin Davis) and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) of the second date. "Let's take the romance out of it."

Carrie began to rethink things though, after she got a visit from her downstairs neighbor Lisette (Katerina Tannenbaum). In last week's episode of the Sex and the City revival, Carrie forged somewhat of a friendship with the young jewelry designer after initially being put off by her loud gatherings on their front stoop.

"I'm sorry for the home invasion but just real quick, I'm a jewelry designer and I wanted to give you this," Lisette said, offering Carrie a ring.

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"I love a home invasion with what I'm assuming is free jewelry," Carrie replied, commenting that the ring was pretty.

Lisette then noticed the other ring on Carrie's hand — her wedding ring from her marriage to John James Preston, a.k.a. Mr. Big (Chris Noth).

"Oh, I didn't know you were married. I mean, I've never seen him. Is it like long distance or something?" Lisette asked as Carrie replied somewhat sarcastically, "Well, yes, very."

Carrie added, "Lisette, it's not long distance. He died. I just haven't taken it off yet."

Katerina Tannenbaum's Lisette. HBO Max

And when it came time for the date with Peter, Carrie had decided she still wasn't ready to take it off.

"You know one of my superpowers as a teacher is this uncanny ability to read facial cues. Are you about to tell me your dog ate your homework?" Peter joked when he arrived at the restaurant, adding, "We're not going to have dinner tonight, are we?"

"I came here because I didn't want to text you, I feel so bad," Carrie said. "See, I went to take off my wedding ring before I came here and I'm sorry for the rushed intimacy but it's the only way to let you know that this is not about you. Instead of putting mine away, I put John's on. That's my husband's name, John."

"And this is his wedding ring. I remarried myself with a Band-Aid," she continued, showing how she got the ring to stay on her finger.

"You know, maybe this dating thing with us is a Band-Aid, too," Peter said, referencing his late wife. "For both of us. Now we're trying to cover up something that still hurts. I still have Ann's last voicemail on here. I play it all the time."

"Well, Carrie, that's strike two. One more and we're out," he teased.

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Later in the episode, Carrie was helping Miranda with a service project — painting a women's shelter — and got to talking to Miranda's soon-to-be ex-husband Steve (David Eigenberg). In a previous episode, Miranda asked Steve for a divorce and embarked on a new romance with Carrie's boss and comedian Che Diaz (Sara Ramirez).

At one point during the service project, Carrie accidentally stepped in paint and while washing up, Big's ring fell down the drain.

"Big's wedding ring! His wedding ring just went down the drain. No, my God. Can you help me? I had a Band-Aid on it. It slipped off. Oh my God. Is it gone? Is his ring gone?" a panicked Carrie asked Steve.

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Steve was ultimately able to retrieve the ring, and then related Carrie's circumstance to his own.

"I get it, this ain't never coming off," he said, pointing to his wedding band. "I don't care what Miranda does and with who. 'Til death do us part."

"Steve, what about you? You are such a wonderful, wonderful person. Don't you maybe want to find someone at some point?" Carrie asked, but Steve said no. "Never coming off," he said.

The conversation prompted a change in Carrie's attitude towards Peter and her dating life.

"Up for strike three?" she texted Peter at the end of the episode.

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