INVESTIGATION: Should Billie Pick Brad Or Cooper On ‘Sex/Life’

Holding firm (pun intended) as number one on Australian Netflix, Sex/Life has become nothing short of a phenomenon.

The steamy series follows Billie (Sarah Shahi), a suburban married housewife who after having two kids starts to grow restless, so she begins to fantasise about the amazing sex she had with an old flame. The show positions Billie’s husband Cooper (Mike Vogel) and her ex Brad (Adam Demos) as polar opposites — one is safe and stable, the other is a total bad boy who brings Billie passion and emotional pain in equal parts.

Billie flip-flops between lusting for Brad, then going back to Cooper throughout the series, culminating in her ultimately trying to have her cake and bang it too. She ditches Cooper, running to Brad’s Soho apartment, just to tell him, “I’m not leaving my husband…now fu*k me.” Yep, this show is baffling.

But while Billie refuses to choose a guy, we’re making the decision for her according to three different sets of criteria.

Who should Billie choose between Brad and Cooper on Sex/Life?

1. Sexual Chemistry

Billie and Cooper’s sex life is lame. We learn in episode one that Cooper no longer goes down on his wife — and that is just not on! The only reason they start having sex at all is because Cooper reads his wife’s diary (also not on!) and becomes obsessed with beating Brad, by doing even kinkier sex stuff. But Cooper is not Brad and even when they start having sex, it doesn’t seem natural.

Cooper tries to recreate Brad’s sex locations and positions, instead of actually communicating with his wife to find out what she wants.

On the other end of the spectrum, Billie and Brad’s sex scenes are so damn hot and that’s not only because Brad knows what he’s doing, but he’s all about prioritising Billie’s pleasure. No wonder she’s hooked on him, he tries to bring her to orgasm every chance he gets. No matter where they are, Brad’s hands are going down Billie’s pants.

They can’t keep their hands off each other. Hell, these two even had sex after Brad had just got a tattoo on his groin. That is dedication.

Brad: 1. Cooper: 0. 

2. Being A Loving Partner

Cooper has his moments but, for the most part, he’s a pretty good guy. At the sex party, he pressured Billie into almost having sex in front of a bunch of strangers (this show lol), but other than that he was a patient and kind husband.

Brad on the other hand often acted like an absolute dick. When Billie had a miscarriage, Brad showed how selfish and cruel he could be. He made the loss of their baby about himself, actually saying they lost the child because he was going to be a bad father. Dude, your narcissism is showing. Then at Billie’s cousin’s wedding, Brad was caught kissing another woman. After all that, Brad then kicked Billie out of his apartment like an actual psychopath.

In another altercation, Brad told Billie, “You’re so curious about everyone else, but what about you? Running away from your redneck mum and dad down in Georgia. Maybe if daddy gave you a little more attention, you wouldn’t f*ck a stranger on the first night you met him.” This isn’t just nasty, but it’s slut-shaming and sexist. Oh, and there was also that time that Brad filmed Sasha having sex without getting her consent. Brad is straight-up toxic.

He can be a sweet and caring person other times, but Billie never knows which Brad she’s going to get. Cooper might be dull, but at least he’s consistent.

Brad: 1. Cooper: 1. 

3. Supporting And Caring About Billie’s Aspirations

Cooper gave Billie her children, as well as a fancy house in Connecticut but other than that, he doesn’t seem that interested in what Billie wants in life. Instead, he acts like she should just be grateful for her privileged life living in the suburbs as a housewife.

Despite meeting Billie when she was still a student studying psychology, he never mentions anything about her early career aspirations. He only sees her as a mother, and often shames her for not living up to his expectations for what a woman should be. In one scene, he actually scolds her for not saying goodnight to her kids, despite the fact she’s literally caring for their children all day long — while he goes to work.

Cooper: "You stay out all night and don't check on the kids"

Cooper, give me a break. All I've seen is Billie with these damn kids #sexlife pic.twitter.com/1XrTa6ONj0

— Mrs. Rated It (@rated_it) July 4, 2021

In contrast, Brad supports and motivates Billie in her career. Brad attended Billie’s lecture and when her article made it into a psychology journal, he bought handfuls of issues to show her how proud he was. In the scene when Brad found out that Billie no longer studied in the present day, he didn’t understand why she had to prioritise motherhood over her career…which is a sacrifice that Cooper never had to shoulder.

Brad: 2. Cooper: 1. 

Verdict?

OK, it looks like we’ve got to give this to Brad HOWEVER it’s hard to get past how badly Brad treated Billie in their earlier life. He was straight-up abusive in the scene where he threw Billie’s bag at her, before demanding she leave their shared home. That energy is not something Billie — or Billie’s two young children — need to be around.

I reckon Billie should pick Billie. Divorce your husband. Forget about Brad. It’s sexist and archaic to think that a single mum can’t enjoy a thrilling sex life.

Love yourself, sis.

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Sex/Life can be streamed on Netflix.