Steve's Hearing Loss in And Just Like That… Inspired By Actor David Eigenberg's Real Life Story

In an interview with Vanity Fair, show writers Julie Rottenberg and Elisa Zuritsk revealed that Steve has limited hearing to reflect Eigenberg's current reality with age.

"When [showrunner] Michael Patrick [King] reconnected with David Eigenberg about the show, the very first thing that David said was, 'I got hearing aids.' It was literally what he led with," Zuritsky told the publication. "That actually wound up being Steve's tone about his aging [in the show]."

Some diehard "Sex and the City" fans have complained about Steve's new role within the revival series and the diminishment of his character as wife Miranda cheats on him after she lacks satisfaction within their romantic life.

Zuritsky said that no one behind the scenes had any intentional malice against Eigenberg’s character and said instead, "Everyone on the show, every single person, loves David Eigenberg as a human being. 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."

Despite this Rottenberg noted that it was important for Miranda's story to show "another reality out there, which a lot of people go through — the reevaluations and transitions in life."

Within the revival series, Miranda unapologetically cheats on her husband Steve after failed attempts at spicing up their marriage and in episode seven she tells her best friend and show lead Carrie Bradshaw, "I tried to revive my sex life with Steve the other day," adding, "I'm afraid the patient is nonresponsive."

"Grown couples grow apart, and people come to epiphanies about what their spouse is or isn't fulfilling for them," Rottenberg continued. "Miranda's story was very representative of a certain path that a lot of women find themselves on."

"We didn't set out to make virtuous characters necessarily," Zuritsky added. "Even beloved people have crises. Even moral, generally wonderful people make choices that aren't necessarily admirable or virtuous. But they do them anyway because they're going through something, or they're working through a crisis."