Cynthia Nixon defended Miranda's treatment of husband Steve on 'And Just Like That' and suggested both were 'miserable' in their relationship

• Cynthia Nixon appeared on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" on Thursday.
• Nixon responded to the criticism her character received over the treatment of her on-screen husband.

Cynthia Nixon defended her "And Just Like That" character Miranda Hobbes after fans criticized the treatment of her on-screen husband, Steve Brady.

On Thursday, Nixon sat down for an interview on "Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen" to discuss the "Sex and the City" reboot ahead of the season finale on February 3. During the interview, Cohen questioned if Nixon understood why some fans were upset over how Steve, played by David Eigenberg, was treated in season one.

"I do. I have to say that's the thing about breakups," Nixon, 55, said. "Oftentimes, there's one person that is making the breakup happen and the other person who is reluctant."

Nixon added: "But I have to say, that person who's reluctant is pretty miserable too, and they're just not admitting it."

Representatives for Cynthia Nixon did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

In the series, Miranda broke off her marriage to Steve after cheating on him and falling for a nonbinary character named Che Diaz, played by "Grey's Anatomy" star Sara Ramirez. As a result, some fans — including writer Roxanne Gay — questioned if the show's writers "hate" Eigenberg's Steve.

"On 'And Just Like That,' do they hate the actor who plays Steve? They have given his character not one good scene. He just walks around yelling uttering absolute nonsense. It's bizarre. He was so lovely," Gay wrote.

—roxane gay (@rgay) January 14, 2022

Elisa Zuritsky, a writer for "Sex and the City" and the HBO Max reboot, shot down that speculation in an interview published on January 13 with Vanity Fair's Julie Miller. She claimed that the criticism suggested a "lopsided gender issue," saying that viewers feel "angry" at Miranda and "more protective" of Steve because of that.

"Everyone on the show, every single person, loves David Eigenberg as a human being," Zuritsky told the outlet. "We love him as an actor. We love Steve. We are really invested in the Steve-ness of him. He's so full of life, and the Steves out there are good guys."

Julie Rottenberg, who also wrote for the original series and the reboot, echoed that sentiment in the Vanity Fair interview and encouraged viewers to see how relatable Miranda's situation was.

"Miranda's journey is representing another reality out there, which a lot of people go through — the reevaluations and transitions in life," she told the outlet. "Grown couples grow apart, and people come to epiphanies about what their spouse is or isn't fulfilling for them."