TV Characters You Loved At First Watch, Then Slowly Realized Were The Worst

Why You Loved Her: Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) is our trendy New York City BFF. She's stylish, witty, and gives us great advice about love. The thought of having a cosmo with Carrie uptown made Sex and the City fans tune in every week. 

Reasons She's Actually The Worst: Aidan (John Corbett) is a really good boyfriend and all-around solid guy. When Carrie figures out that she's still in love with Big (Chris Noth), she should break it off with Aidan. Instead, she cheats on him and lies. She also isn't such a great friend to Miranda (Cynthia Nixon), Charlotte (Kristin Davis), and Samantha (Kim Cattrall).

Miranda is always there emotionally for Carrie, and Carrie often fails to reciprocate. When Carrie needs money to keep her apartment, she guilts Charlotte into selling her engagement ring. Forget about what she throws away on expensive shoes and designer clothes. Despite the fact that Carrie is a columnist who has no problem writing about the details of her storied private life, there are several instances in which she shames Samantha for being open about her intimate relations. 

Why You Loved Him: Ross (David Schwimmer) is the likable underdog of the titular group of friends; he is intelligent and awkward, and he cares deeply for the people in his life. He even tries to put aside his own emotions to make his friends more comfortable when his pal Joey (Matt LeBlanc) starts dating his ex-girlfriend Rachel (Jennifer Aniston).

Why He's Actually The Worst: Ross scores way out of his league when Rachel falls in love with him; however, he takes advantage of their relationship for his own selfish intent on multiple occasions. He becomes extremely jealous of Rachel's co-worker Mark (Steven Eckholdt) when she finally lands her dream job in fashion, then he sleeps with someone else to get back at her and claims that it's okay because they were "on a break." 

After Ross's divorce from Emily (Helen Baxendale), he is in between apartments. Joey and Chandler (Matthew Perry) let him stay with them while he looks for a new place, but instead of adapting to his new circumstances, he tries to get them to change their lifestyle. Perhaps one of his worst offenses is lying to Rachel about being divorced after the pair drunkenly get married in Vegas. 

Why You Loved Her: Of all four main gal pals on HBO's Girls, Marnie (Allison Williams) is initially the most mature and responsible. She seems to have her head screwed on straight and she comes off as intelligent, determined, and strong-willed. 

Reasons She's Actually The Worst: For six seasons, four girls in their 20s learn how to be empathetic, responsible adults. Hannah (Lena Dunham) finally gets her writing career in motion, Shoshanna (Zosia Mamet) graduates from college and gets engaged, and Jessa (Jemima Kirke) is working on her sobriety with the healthy support of her boyfriend Adam (Adam Driver). Then there's Marnie, whose behavior gets more and more perilous over the course of the series. 

Marnie pretends to have her life together in order to compensate for the things she lacks. She likes to make her friends feel awful about their shortcomings. She starts an affair with a married man, Desi (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), which ends his marriage. She eventually marries Desi, only to cheat on him with her ex-boyfriend Charlie (Christopher Abbott). By the end of the series, there is little evidence that she can move past her toxic narcissism. 

Why You Loved Him: Ted (Josh Radnor) is the token nice guy - a relatable, all-around good dude looking for love. He's funny and easy to talk to, plus he's a good friend. He remains pals with Robin (Cobie Smulders) even after their breakup, and his top priority in life is to settle down and become a family man. Ted is a sweet, hopeless romantic.

Reasons He's Actually The Worst: Ted is a know-it-all. He has no problem correcting his friends and making them look bad. He also gaslights every girlfriend he dates, and selfishly pursues his own goals even when that means someone else has to suffer.

Although he may want everyone to think he's just another hopeless romantic looking for his soulmate, he rushes through relationships and is completely caught up in the chase. It's also hard to excuse the questionable way in which he details his romantic escapades for his kids. 

Why You Loved Her: Serena (Blake Lively), a socialite and fashion model, is not only one of the prettiest girls in every room, she's also one of the kindest. Despite her social status, she's easy-going and fun to be around. Her charisma makes her one of the most prominent high school students on the Upper East Side, and she's respected by her peers and elders alike. Her closet would make even Carrie Bradshaw green with envy. 

Reasons She's The Worst: Though she hides it under a facade of good intention, Serena is selfish and entitled, even for a privileged teenager growing up in the Manhattan socialite scene. She will help her friends in need, but only if it benefits her. She's also a runner, and instead of dealing with her problems head-on, she avoids facing up to her mistakes. Her narcissistic actions upset the people who love her, and she has no problem toying with and disposing of the men in her life. 

Serena is manipulative, and she knows how to use her friends to get what she wants. One of her worst indiscretions is sleeping with her best friend Blair's (Leighton Meester) boyfriend Nate (Chace Crawford) and then leaving town so she doesn't have to face the consequences. 

Why You Loved Him: Don Draper (Jon Hamm) is good looking, smart, confident, rich, charming, and successful. He has an uncanny way with words and can sell anything to anyone at any time. He is the quintessential adman who is always pitching and working to keep his clients happy. 

Reasons He's Actually The Worst: Don can be a huge jerk. He often treats his co-workers with a total lack of respect and comes off as a petulant bully. He is perhaps hardest on his protégée Peggy (Elizabeth Moss), oftentimes inflicting so much emotional stress that she is left in tears. 

When Don is married to Betty (January Jones) and then Megan (Jessica Paré), he cheats on them both. He is also a distant father to his three kids, often putting work over family. Despite having it all, Don is never happy. He drinks too much, behaves poorly, and makes decisions that have negative consequences for the people in his life.