15 Reasons Why We Secretly Loved Charlotte York

Charlotte York, played to pristine perfection by Kristin Davis, was the most conservative of the characters on Sex and the City, which is a stark contrast to the other women on the show. She felt strongly about holding out for a fairytale type of relationship and living a respectable life whenever possible, and often was trying to dole out advice to help keep her wayward girls in line. Here are some of the best Charlotte quotes from Sex and the City.

1. When she had reasonable emotion to how tiring dating can be

Anyone who has spent a lot of time dating knows how tiring it can be…especially if there’s an end goal to wrap it up after finding “the one.” Charlotte had been on a husband hunt since day one, so naturally the effort got to her from time to time.

“I’ve been dating since I was fifteen! I’m exhausted! Where is he?”

2. When she turned things down like a pro

Charlotte was once propositioned for anal sex, and she ended up going into a length ramble about why she wouldn’t. The ramble can work because it freaks men out and they’re less likely to have a counterargument ready when they aren’t sure what the point of the statement is.

“I can’t, Brian. I want to, but I can’t. I mean, actually no, that’s not true. I don’t want to. Or maybe I do. I don’t know what I want. But I’m afraid if I don’t, you’ll dump me. And if I do, then I’ll be the up-the-butt girl. And I don’t want to be the up-the-butt girl, because I mean… Men don’t marry up-the-butt girl. Whoever heard of Mrs. Up-The-Butt? No, no, no. I can’t. I want children and nice bedding, and I just can’t handle this right now.”

3. She always stayed true to herself

Charlotte always stuck to her guns on behavior and personal style, no matter what anyone else was doing around her. This was often played up in contrast to the extremely outgoing and uninhibited Samantha Jones.

Samantha: What are you wearing? The invitation said kinky?
Charlotte: I kinked my hair!

4. When she was almost tempted to stray

Charlotte was dismayed to find that she had an interest in a gardener at one point. Samantha on the other hand was thrilled, and insinuated that it was totally normal to go after the help.

“I’m married, I can’t be looking at gardeners. This is insane.”

5. When she felt pretty serious about planning her future

It was no secret that Charlotte put marriage at the top of her list of priorities, and she wasn’t afraid to say it. She even set time frames to keep her plan on track.

“Allow me to get right to the point. After careful consideration, I have decided that this is the year I am getting married.”

6. She ultimately proposed to herself

When Charlotte felt certain that she ready for an engagement with Trey, she basically proposed to herself. And then felt reasonably stressed out about how things went.

Charlotte: I proposed to myself.
Carrie: What?
Charlotte: Yes. I suggested he have a tomato salad, then I suggested we get married…What am I going to tell my kids? ‘Well, Mommy really wanted to get married so she asked Daddy and Daddy said, ‘All righty.’

7. She was always trying to stay polite

Charlotte always watched her own language, and she wasn’t afraid of calling out the foul mouths of her friends either. Especially while they were in public, and particularly while they were in a sacred establishment like Vera Wang trying on wedding dresses.

“Could you not use the f-word in Vera Wang?”

8. She stood up for her friends, gently

One very sweet moment that occurred in the film was when Charlotte ran into Big after he stood Carrie up at their wedding. Naturally Carrie was tragically heartbroken after the years of on and off drama with Big, and her friends were incredibly supportive and protective following the incident. A pregnant Charlotte ran into Big on the street, wound up for a fiery insult. All she managed to let out was:

“I curse the day you were born!”

9. She always tried to see the good

Charlotte was generally pretty optimistic, even when she wasn’t being reasonable. As much as she wanted true love in the form of a husband, she also really valued and loved the relationships that she had with her friends.

“Don’t laugh at me, but maybe we can be each other’s soul mates. And then we can let men be just these great, nice guys to have fun with.”

10. But she also had her struggles

Charlotte seemed pretty unfazed a lot of the time by what other people were doing, in the sense that she always stayed true to her own style and personality. But, that didn’t mean that she didn’t have her insecurities just anyone else.

“I just know no matter how good I feel about myself, if I see Christy Turlington, I just wanna give up.”

11. She certainly has her tastes

When Miranda’s mother passed away, Charlotte attended the funeral and did not take nicely to the final result of the flower arrangements. Always wanting things to be done right and in the most appropriate way, she had no problem speaking her mind about it either.

“They were supposed to say I’m sorry, I love you’ not ‘You’re dead, let’s disco!”

12. She definitely knew who she was

Charlotte was never apologetic for who she was, she just was. Even when she was well aware the person she was could be a little hard to please. This about sums her up:

“I’m sweet, romantic, and traditional. I’m a bit prissy and naive, and I won’t settle for less than a picture perfect life.”

13. Charlotte was always able to explain who she was

…and why.

“My parents believe that any head problem could be solved with physical exercise. That’s why all of us are really good tennis players.”

14. She was pretty entertaining

Charlotte has an almost childlike wide-eyed quality a lot of the time, which led to a lot of eye rolling from her best friends. Samantha was surprised that she could keep her food down after Charlotte exclaimed the following:

“I was a teen model when the Ralph Lauren store opened in New Haven.”

15. Overall, Charlotte trusted life

Charlotte was a firm believer in everything happening for a reason, which is part of what helped her believe that her fairytale was always just around the corner.

“Everything happens for a reason. Even if you don’t know what it is yet.”