EX AND THE CITYsex in the curious city

We watched the last episode of Season 2 Ex and the City and were fascinated by how Carrie and Miranda readily let their exes back into their lives only to be tempted, burned, or set free. We wonder what the general behavior towards exes is amongst our friends and peers and whether it is different between the two sexes. So we surveyed 28 of our friends, 14 guys and 14 girls. Though our survey pool is not large, it is very diverse with people from many different backgrounds: married, divorced, gay, straight, long distance, long term, single, open relationships, etc... Here are our findings:

MONICA

The EX
We asked: (L:)Have you ever regretted dating an ex? and (R:)When you look back on your relationship, which of the following do you most closely identify with?

Although the majority of the men do regret dating their ex, they mostly do have good thoughts about the relationship as a whole. 

MERE SENTIMENTALITY
We asked: (L:) Have you kept any gifts, souvenirs, or memorabilia from an ex? and (R:) Do you ever miss an ex?

I was surprised by this information. Guys are sensitive! Or maybe nostalgic is a better word. This might relate back to them thinking fondly on past relationships.

THE WEAKEST LINK
We asked: (L:) Have you ever gotten back together with an ex? and (R:) Have you ever engaged in flirting, drunken calls, etc. with an ex when you needed an emotional high or affirmation?

The data shows that men are the stronger sex. They are not easily tempted by their exes even though they do get extremely nostalgic. They definitely stick to their guns.

FORWARD THINKERS
We asked: Have you ever thought that an ex was "the one?"

Seems like there's slightly more Aidans out there than Bigs. I'm also a bit in awe that the idea of "the one" is prevalent since it's a somewhat antiquated, storybook notion.

POST-BREAK UP BEHAVIOR
We asked: (L:) Are you currently friends with an ex? and (R:) Do you ever stalk an ex on Facebook or other social media?

Post breakup behavior is split down the middle. I thought more guys would Facebook stalk, but again it relates back to their will and restraint.


These findings got me thinking, was the bible wrong? Maybe Adam actually doesn't get tempted by Eve to eat the forbidden fruit. Or have men just evolved? I guess they are smarter than we thought...

JUNETTE

The EX

We asked: Have you ever regretted dating an ex? and When you look back on your relationship, which of the following do you most closely identify with? 

Surprisingly (to me, Queen of Regret), most of the women did not regret dating their exes. Perhaps women are able to look back and find something worth learning from the past... or maybe these women were just good at picking out non-jerks.

MERE SENTIMENTALITY
We asked: Have you kept any gifts, souvenirs, or memorabilia from an ex? and Do you ever miss an ex?

Although a little more than half the women say they miss their ex, they do tend to hold on to memorabilia!

THE WEAKEST LINK
We asked: Have you ever gotten back together with an ex? and Have you ever engaged in flirting, drunken calls, etc. with an ex when you needed an emotional high or affirmation?

Women are more likely to get back together with their exes than men, but they're definitely less likely to drunk dial or text.

FORWARD THINKERS
We asked: Have you ever thought that an ex was "the one?"

Although women are often cast as the more romantic sex, it seems like that's nothing but a stereotype. Only half the women thought their exes were "the one."

POST-BREAK UP BEHAVIOR

We asked:  Are you currently friends with an ex? and Do you ever stalk an ex on Facebook or other social media?

No big surprise here - women are definitely on board with the online stalking.  I think there's something in the nature of a lot of women that just can't resist when curiosity calls.

Although Monica and I were thinking that there would be huge, exciting differences between men and women, I was surprised that for the most part, men and women are pretty similar in their views and actions towards their exes.