miranda meets steve when she spends a long time at a bar waiting for carrie, who ultimately stands her up. steve is the bartender and flirts with her—the two go to miranda's place and have sex. she sees the encounter as a one-night stand, but steve is smitten. miranda reacts callously to steve's suggestion that they see each other in the future, with miranda insisting that no man can be faithful and dependable. finally steve wins her over and she takes a leap of faith and starts dating him. their differences in income, aspirations and status, as well as their attitudes about living together and having kids, are the catalysts for their eventual breakup, followed by several reconciliations and subsequent breakups. over the course of the show miranda puts steve through a fair amount of emotional tumult. however, he looks beneath her cynical exterior and finds her softer side while at the same time choosing his battles carefully, and manages to get miranda to relax and feel comfortable in a relationship.