Sex and the City creator marries

The writer of the singles in New York comedy recently married principal ballet dancer Charles Askegard, 33, on a beach in Massachusetts - just eight weeks after the pair met.

"One has to be open-minded when the right man comes along," she told The New York Times.

"And I know it's freaky, but this just seems like the natural thing to do."

The 42-year-old's best-selling book Sex and the City was adapted into a hugely successful TV show starring Sarah Jessica Parker as a newspaper columnist whose love life is often a disaster.

Complement

The book was a collection of columns Bushnell has written for the New York Observer about life in the city.

Her wedding took place on a windswept beach in Nantucket.

As the couple were pronounced husband and wife, Bushnell ran across the sand and leapt into the arms of her new spouse.

"We're both independent, so we complement each other in a good way," said Mr Askegard.

"It's fun to be out on the town with her, but when we're alone, that's when it's really great."

Bushnell had been regarded as a cynic about marriage.

Earlier this year she told the Daily Telegraph: "Marriage is a male invention.

"Statistically, married women and single men are the unhappiest."

Sassy

But the creator of the Sex and the City show, Darren Star, said: "Life is constantly evolving. Everyone has to have a new chapter."

The TV show, first broadcast on the HBO network in the US, has been shown on Channel 4 in the UK since February 1999.

It picked up two Golden Globes TV awards in January.

Sarah Jessica Parker was awarded the best actress title for her role as the sassy columnist Carrie Bradshaw, and the show also picked up the best TV comedy award.