Romance Rewind

Who Did Ted End Up With on ‘How I Met Your Mother’? How the Finale Wrapped Up His Journey

Ted (Josh Radnor) spent nine seasons looking for the love of his life on How I Met Your Mother. He almost tied the knot with Stella (Sarah Chalke), and often had to deal with his lingering feelings for Robin (Cobie Smulders), but during the series finale he finally married the mother of his two children.

However, Ted’s life was always more complicated than simply being able to have a happy ending. Scroll down for a refresh on what happened and who he actually ended up with at the end of the series.

Who did Ted end up with on HIMYM?

At the very end of the Season 9 finale, it was revealed that Ted ended up with Robin. After Ted’s kids finally heard the conclusion of the story of how he met their mother, Tracy (Cristin Milioti), who died six years earlier, they were the ones who helped him realize that he was in love with “aunt Robin.”

“Come on, dad, mom’s been gone for six years now. It’s time,” Penny (Lyndsy Fonseca) told him, prompting Ted to race over to Robin’s apartment with the iconic blue french horn from their first date. As he showed it to her from outside the window, she flashed a huge smile, signaling that she was also on board for their romantic reconciliation.

Carin Baer / © CBS / Everett Collection

Prior to finally getting together with Robin, Ted lived a happy life with Tracy for about ten years. They met at Robin and Barney’s (Neil Patrick Harris) wedding in 2013 and immediately connected, which helped Ted move on from the fact that Robin was marrying his best friend. Ted and Tracy put off their nuptials when he became pregnant with their first child in 2015, followed by baby No. 2 in 2017. They got married in 2020, but she soon got sick. Ted was by her side through her illness, which she succumbed to in 2024.

It then took six years to finally pursue Robin once again.

What happened to Barney on HIMYM?

Wait, why was Robin available to be pursued by Ted if she was married to Barney? Well, the pair’s marriage only lasted three years. They divorced in 2016. Let’s face it, Barney was never meant to be a married man. Even though he was in love with Robin and pulled off the ultimate playbook move to propose to her, he was always going to put himself first at the end of the day. Plus, Robin was too invested in her career to make her marriage to Barney a success.

Ron P. Jaffe / ©CBS / Everett Collection

After the divorce, Barney went back to his playboy ways, but ultimately found the love of his life in the form of his daughter, Ellie, born in 2020. Ellie was conceived while Barney was trying to perfect a “perfect month” in August 2019 and impregnated the woman from day 31.

While having kids was never on Barney’s radar in the past, there was no denying the love he felt when he held his baby girl for the first time.

Do Lily and Marshall get divorced on HIMYM?

No, of course not! They’re Marshmallow and Lilypad! However, the end of the series didn’t come without some struggles for the couple. Lily (Alyson Hannigan) was excited to have a job offer in Rome, while Marshall (Jason Segel) received an offer to become a judge in New York. However, when Lily revealed that she was pregnant with their second child, Marshall knew it was time to put his dreams on hold.

Richard Cartwright / ©CBS / courtesy Everett Collection

The family moved to Rome with their little family and Lily pursued her art passion, but the flash forward sequence in the finale revealed that Marshall eventually got his dream too. In 2020, he was elected as a Supreme Court judge. The pair also had a third child at some point in the future.

How I Met Your Mother, Streaming, Netflix