The biggest question on the minds of most How I Met Your Mother fans is simple… Who is the mother? Considering the response, let’s consider part one of this the article: About the Mother from How I Met Your Mother, I talked about what we know through Season 3. With that as a reference, Let’s take another look at the mystery of the mother. (ps, I’ve closed comments on the old post 650+ is too much to read.)
FUN Facts (let’s have fun with these):
- She was in the Economics 305 class, when Ted gives his Architecture lecture. (ref. s05e01, “Definitions” )
- She was at the St. Patty’s day party where Ted was being a jerk and originally found the Yellow Umbrella (ref. s03e12 “No Tomorrow”)
- She is Cindy’s (Rachel Bilson) room mate (ref. s05e12 “Girls vs. Suits” )
- The mom now has her Yellow Umbrella back (ref. s05e12 “Girls vs. Suits” )
- He doesn’t wait days to call (ref. s04e21 “Three Days Rule” )
- Ted says he meets her the wedding from the Season 6 Premier. We know he is the best man at eh wedding and that it starts to rain and he forgot his umbrella. No mention of whose wedding, but it’s truly a big day. (ref. s06e01 “Big Days” )
- Ted has not met her before “Lucky Penny”. Ted says his destiny was to stay in NY because if he hadn’t he never would have met their mother, while showing a wedding glimpse. (ref. s02e15 “Lucky Penny”)
Theories:
- The bump girl. During “No Tomorrow” Ted goes to the St. Patty’s day party and happens to have shared look with a black haired girl he bumps into. We know from Ted that the mother was at the party and we assume that it was indeed her umbrella he picked up the next day (s05e12 “Girls vs. Suits” ). It’s definitely not impossible, however improbable that out of all the girl’s there it was EXACTLY her!. Some fan’s feel she was a Red Herring in case the series was canceled, other feel it’s too obvious to be nothing. Either way, that’s all we know.
- Her name is Tracy. No one says it’s the girls he talks to at the end of Belly Full of Turkey, just the name that Ted mentions is significant. I know it’s a long shot but I still like the Tracy Theory. (ref. s01e09 “Belly Full of Turkey” )
- Ted’s Perfect Match is the Mother. Ted never actually meets his match in the Season 1 Episode “Milk” and coincidentally some of the qualities mentions are the same as Rachel’s roommate in “Girls vs. Suits”. With that in mind a lot of fans believe since we’ve never seen her then it could in fact be the match. Plus they blur our her face, so there’s that. (ref. s01e21 “Milk”, s05e12 “Girls vs. Suits” )
- The Kid’s aren’t Ted’s or Ted isn’t telling the story. First off, that’s just insane. While I admire your creativity, there are too many reference to cite here.
- Coat check girl or Wendy the Waitress are the mother. Both these theories were started as “confirmed” jokes in interviews by the Creators of HIMYM.
- The Mother is Zoey’s Sister/step-daughter. This is a new one and not much info to go on. The only question I would ask has to do with age. The toy that Zoey had for the step daughter in Blitzgiving looked to be for a smaller child. The sister angle I’ve got nothing for. (ref. s06e10 “Blitzgiving” )
Notable Ladies:
The short version of this is that if Ted has met (knows them, etc..) they are not the mother since he meets her for the first time at the wedding shown in Big Days. Despite that, more for the fun of it, let’s run down a few gals.
- Robin. Robin is not the Mother. We learn this in the first episode and it is reconfirmed countless times in all seasons. No matter how much people “want it to happen” It’s not let’s quit wasting space and thought on it. The kids even say “ Aunt Robin?” “I thought this was how you met mom.” (ref. s1e01 “Pilot”, and too many other to name)
- Victoria. She was great, most everyone loved Victoria and it would have been nice. A lot of fans want to see her back and while it hasn’t been a confirmed or denied, she isn’t the mother. Ted made it very clear how bad of an idea long distance was and the relationship came to a close (Ted: It didn’t work.) Also let this serve as a reminder…when it’s after 2 a.m., just go to sleep. (ref. s01e16 “Cupcake” )
- Stella. She is important to the story but the mother she is not. Stella left Ted at the altar and married her daughter’s father. There are several episodes that prove it’s not Stella, but topper for them all was the moment we say the possible flash forward with blonde kids. (ref. s04e05 “Shelter Island” )
- Natalie (Return of the Shirt), Dr. Sara O’Brein (Matchmaker), the Slutty Pumpkin, Trudy (Pineapple Incident & Third Wheel), Mary the Paralegal, Coat Check Girl (OK Awesome) … First off all of these girls were gorgeous so it’s a shame we don’t get to see them any more. Ted say they plainly were not about a few and if not they are all Pre-Lucky Penny.
- Karen. Ted’s College Girlfriend. Lilly and Marshall Hate her. She is a Grinch! She fails the Front Porch Test (s04e17) and the kids look nothing like her.
- Cindy. While she was in Econ 305, Ted made it very clear she was the roommate of the future mom, not the mother.
- Wendy the Waitress. I just wanted to mention her again because Charlene Amoia is awesome. True Story
- Zoey. He has met her way before the wedding in Big Days, and while she might be important to the story that alone should exclude her. Further more, she’s blonde and remember the possible future scene with Stella from Shelter Island? Want more? She met Ted before the Wedding and She was not Cindy’s roommate, I also would bet she wasn’t in the economics class.
So there you have it, the most concise “Who could the mother be” list in existence. What say ye?
oh shepadoodle mother….its a trick….u just watch
I am 100% sure it’s Barney and Noras wedding. I just.. i just know it!
nooooooooo…..if he ends up with Nora then I will die…it is definitely punchy
What’s so bad with Barney and Nora getting married? I like both Barney and Nora. We know Barney has feelings for Nora, we know Nora has feelings for Barney. Nora wants to get married. Barney need to change sometime (don’t sleep with random girls ;)). I like to believe it’s their wedding!
Guys… have a look at this website… http://tedmosbyisnotajerk.com/ If this site is a valid one that is created by the produces of the sitcom then Victoria is comming back to the series… That great news for fans like me…
This site is supposedly created by victoria as a damage control against http://www.tedmosbyisajerk.com...
wohooo
hi all, i guess i have found her.
Check “Big Days(s6e1)”, pause at 09:50,
the girl at left may be the mother!!
ok i have a new theory…i just watched the episode “little boys”, na d ted dates a girl he really likes and she plays the bass in a band, they never seal the deal because barney had been there first. but ted says he really liked her….also robin dates a guy with akid and his other girlfriend comes ove who looks like the bump girls twin sister….i just think trhe answer is right in front of us and we must look at every possibility!
but why her?
that woould be nice but that site was fan made… as a response to the tedmosbyisajerk.com
Funny stuff though.
At the moment I’ve 3 theories:
1.It’s the slutty pumkin. Ted is waiting for her for years all night, believing in the romantic idea of her being “the One”. His friends tell him not to do so. When he mets her finally by purpose on halloween (not waiting for her), than all would be right. Plus: In all seasons shown so far this episode is still one of the best (maybe apart from the too romantic end).
2. It’s the girl from the 1st episode talking to Robin, when Ted sees her for the very first time. You can only see her back and blond hair, while Ted sees Robin looks in Robins (and hers) direction and future Ted is talking. Everybody thinks he means himself, when he talks about turning around, to see the perfect match. But maybe he means “her”, who is not turning around to see him (her perfct match). In th final they can meat anyway. This would be a funny end, because the story thn is a circle. At the same time, it would be only one sign. Sure it would be weired to see her at the first episode, but the mystery is not “who is the mother”, but “How I met your mother”.
3.All friends are called “aunt” and “uncle” by the kids even if they aren’t real relatives. Or maybe not? It is still reasonable that one of the friends can be a real brother or sister of the mother. And the 1rst candidate to be is for sure Barney, because nobody knows his real farther yet, who could have other childrens than Barney, too. This theory would explain, why the paralell mystery of “who is Barney’s real father” is delayed. As the mystery of the “mother” we only get informations part by part.
as an add to my theory 3:
It would also make possible for Ted to meet his perfect match (= the mother = Barneys half-sister) at a wedding. Maybe even at Barney’s wedding, which would bring the humour on the top (“player” Barney marrying before “romantic” Ted). (As an Altrnative: Jame’s gay-wedding – would be statement).
Remember Season 3 episode 4,(little boys) there was a girl that Barney and Ted both tried to hit on to see who had the most game long story short she played bass in rege band, had blonde hair and the apartment looked similer to the one in season 5. Any thoughts?
My theory is tat the slutty pumpkin and the perfect match tat Ted never met are one and the same person… And she is the mother…
perhaps then its Marshall’s mom?
Well — there is a reference in one episode after Robin and Barney split up. Robin says she is not ready to date yet, and she wants to be single for awhile. Marshall and Lily then tell her that every person they have ever known who says they are done with dating ends up marrying the very next person they date. At the end of the episode, the Ted voice says, “Ironically that is the day Robin met Don.” So…one could argue that was a huge indication that Robin and Don will get married.
ok now i think that the mother is Barney sister who is in college and wasn’t at the dinner…we already know the mother is a college student
sorry dude, but barney is totally going to end up with robin NOT Nora!!!
so, im totally almost positive that its Barneys wedding and his sister is the mother. I hope the wedding is to Robin but who knows. Anyhoo, the mothers name being Tracy totally almost makes sense because Barney never asked her name (although wtf who forgets to ask their sisters name) so its still fully likely and possible. this is what im going with. or at least hoping for.
funny thing though. I never thought robin was the mother, but maybe im just weird.
Ok. Just to clear everything up the wedding shown in the first episode of season 6 is Punchy’s wedding, remember he asked Ted to be the best man. I am almost certain that this information is correct but it seems like this series is going to end with a “big bang”
Alot of the episodes have been revolved around surprises, destruction, and explosion. (Not literaly).
Reading this and having a think about who the mother is got me thinking about this wedding that we’ll see again in the S6 finale (although probably not actually happening at that time…). I had all sorts of theories about whose wedding it is, but I don’t think any of them make sense. Having a read around the internet the main theories seem to be either Punchy, Barney or Robin (or Barney to Robin). Out of these, it being Robin’s wedding is the one which sits best with me, although I’m still not entirely convinced.
However, Ted says in Lucky Penny that “If I hadn’t stayed in NY I never would have met your mother” – all 3 of the above named people are some of Ted’s best friends, and I’m sure he would have been invited to their weddings even if he’d moved away. If he meets the mother at a wedding, does it need to be someone else’s wedding for this to be true?!
I’ve come to the conclusion that I will just wait and watch and see! Also, that I love these 5 as friends almost too much to bother with the mother…at the moment I feel like she’ll just get in the way!
I have a feeling that its not robins wedding because unless she got married to barney why would ted be the best man so it has to be punchy or barneys wedding
Because in one episode Ted promises, when he and robin are talking on the couch, to be the best man if robin EVER maries 🙂
And she can’t be blonde, because when the future ted talks about Stella (which is blonde) you see that the kids have blonde hair, but actually they’ve got brown hair 🙂
Also, i seem to remember an episode that shows a woman (brunette hair) with her face blurred out, not sure which episode but its in Season 1 as ted describes the perfect match. So their is a strong possibility that the mother is Ted’s perfect match from season 1… its only a theory, but the face blurred out definitely says something.
What about that girl Nora? I know this ruins the Tracy theory but it’s only a theory, the writers are smart enough to go around it.
Really you think!!?? God dammit read the stated facts on the top of the page before posting! And folks no one knows who the mother is, not even the writers. They’re keeping it open! This is obvious!
Really you think!!?? God dammit read the stated facts on the top of the page before posting! And folks no one knows who the mother is, not even the writers. They’re keeping it open! This is obvious!
The wedding seen in 601 is a flashforward so could very well be Barneys wedding! Geezez guys pay attention!!
I think it’s very obvious that Ted ends up with Robin but gets the 2 kids from another woman. Robin doesn’t want kids, but later on learns to love em (kids’ drawings). The kids want to know how Ted met their mom because they want to understand why they’re not together and why he is with Robin. That’s why it is relevant to Ted to tell the story from the start with their Aunt Robin and not go directly to the mom. This is just my view as the series started with Robin and Ted, it is how it is. This is just my crazy idea of a twist… Or… it could be Barney narrating (my fantasy). Hahahaha! Please do correct me if I missed some points here. I am open to that.
I don’t think it can be any girl that he’s met, even in passing. So not bump girl. It’s definitely not any of the people he’s friends with. And it’s definitely not Punchy’s wedding, because as someone else pointed out, Punchy would not be getting married in New York. And why would Marshall be at Punchy’s wedding? They aren’t friends…I don’t believe that the writers will contradict themselves just in the name of a plot twist. I think the wife will be Ted’s “perfect match”…someone we have never seen before. And the entertainment factor of the reveal will not come from who the mother is, but HOW he meets the mother.
It’s Barney’s half sister
im pretty sure you are right, cause jerry says he has a daughter in college and that fits with the economics and cindy
You remove Trudy too early from your list.
According to me Danica McKellar (Trudy looks like Tracy) is the mother.
Some facts:
Firstly you can link HIMYM with the “Wonder
years” where Danica McKellar played Winnie Cooper. The principle of these
2 shows are the same.
One telling story about his childhood until the
university and on the other side one telling story after the university.
At the end of Wonder Years, we learnt that Winnie
Cooper did not marry with Kevin Arnold but (with another man)
The 2 creators of HIMYM were around 13 years old when
they discovered Winnie Cooper… this perfect girlfriend. I think that they
tried to carry on the adventure of Winnie Cooper under a modern version.
In HIMYM, Trudy left behind her 2 question marks:
What’s that pineapple?
Does Ted win the belt?
What I know about this show is that a question can’t
stay without answer.
I have no answer for the first question but I hardly
work on it.
On the second question, I would answer that he did
not.
Indeed in this chapter we have 2 important elements:
Tennis on WII and competition between the 2 girls.
I can easily guess that the 2 girls focused their
competition needings to the WII instead of Ted during his absence.
That’s why I think that trudy is the one 🙂
sorry people but i believe the mother still isnt close to being identified. I dont think shes been in the show yet other then some glances. either way i hope we dont met her yet cuz then that would most likely mean the end of himym. p.s Barney Stinson is the best character ever created!!!!!!!!!!!! GO NEIL PATRICK HARRIS
It also fits in with why she would be at Barney’s wedding.
I dont know if your ever read this but its barneys wedding
According to the Tracey Therory it isnt her because jerry’s daughter is named Carly, although it can be ted’s wife
Ok, i have a question and could not find anything on it,,, Soo, am just watching season 5 and in the first ep (definitions) it is mentioned that the mother is in the Econ class, so of course i froze every scene where they show the class and “spotted” a couple o things. Here goes: at 10.57 you can see a girl in the middle whose face is “covered” by a blue laptop (supposedly from the guy sitting behind her) BUT i looked at the scene several times and its odd, cos her face can not be covered like that. The laptop has to be either behind or in front of her face but the way its shown, its totally illogical. I really think the laptop was planted there to cover her face on purpose. However a little later you get to see her properly at 11.08, when Ted doesnt know how to spell “Professor” and the black girl helps him out by shaking her head and nodding. Basically the girl sitting behind her is the girl whose face was “weirdly” covered before. Now you can see her face properly and she certainly looks like Ted’s Type. (pretty, brunette) She is wearing a grey sweater and is sitting next to a blonde girl wearing blue. Ok, i know of course this could be a Herring or even nothing at all. However it COULD be the mother, after all she is in that class,,,,, Another thing i wonder about is, i couldnt find cindy in that class, she should be there too and supposedly sitting close to her Roommate (the mother), you would assume, but i couldnt spot her.
Ok, i really think the girl in grey could be it, it also fits in with Teds remark that the mother was “sitting over there” and the camera swerves exactly towards where the girl in grey sits. Again, am aware this could be a Herring but really i would love other peoples take on this.
To conclude, check out 0.17 (girl covered by black laptop, behind black girl), 10.57 (girl ” illogically” covered by blue Laptop) and finally 11.08-11.22 (the pretty brunette behind the black girl helping Ted) Yeah, maybe its “the mother”, then again, who knows 🙂 🙂
peace n love
Ok, i checked the scene with the blue laptop one final time and maybe after all its not planted there. UPS,,,, i still think it looks weird but the scene could actually make sense, like her head being covered by the laptop in the front and at the same time covering the blue laptop in the back.
In any case, i would not disregard the girl in the grey sweater being the mother, even if it would seem “too easy”
Another thing i am wondering is: Is ” yellow” of further significance in the story, apart from the obvious yellow umbrella, there seems to be a lot of yellow in cindy’s and the mother’s appartment, plus the yellow bus gets mentioned as belonging to the mother,,,sooo seems yellow is kinda important or not, lol,,, still i will def. watch out for “yellow clues”
peace, love, nd awsomeness
omg … k so i just wach season 6 ep 1 big day at about 50 sec to 1min in the ep marshall ask ted are you nervous he say why do i look like am nervous /no i just hope it doesint rain! we all know the its barneys wedding now so we will met the mother at the end of wedding were ted is standing out side the church and up walks the mother with her yellow umbrella! cuz well it started to rain right after lilly called ted as ted and marshall ran in marshall said ted did u bring a umbrella ted sayed no i did’int bring a umbrella that proving the fact we will see the mother at the wedding. we now the wedding will be soon after lily had her baby cuz she was not pregs! at that time. am think we see who the bride is at the end of this season and meet the mother the very first or second ep next season wich will be season 8! 🙂 i love this show so if they have plans to show eveything later on i would love for the show to go on as-long as cbs want to pick it up for. i will be waching 🙂
I was not a supporter of the captain theory but now I am!!
I just noticed something which made the captain theory very strong!
(1) i have heard that creator(s) of himym have said that zoey is the most important girl
ted have ever met
(2) very strong and wellknown argument against the captain theory: the gift which zoey selected to give the captain’s daughter was suggesting that the captain’s daughter must be a little girl and not some adult college girl thats why she cannot be the mother because mother is doing graduation or post-graduation or even ph.d. at college.
very strong explanation to this argument: (i) the mother has many little kids’ toys in her appartment for example “the cute yellow bus”(s5e12) so its obvious that the mother likes little kids’ toys to have in her showcase, thats why zoey selected that
kind of gift to give her. (ii) captain is a mature man (aprox. 50-55) so his daughter is more likely to be aprox. 25-30 but not 5-10.
so…..the mother can be the captain’s daughter!!!! Hannah!!!!!
What u say?
It was always TWO weddings last season Punchy’s and Barney’s…. and it can’t be Victoria, Slutty Pumpkin, or Trudy, or “stripper Tracy” as in he hasn’t met the other yet after meeting all of them. When he was gonna leave for chicago but doesn’t and alter says it was thing he could have done because he would ahve never met their mother, which this episode is after he’s dated and met all the girls most are mentioning. Also the Zoey thing, yeah it isnt her but she probably does have a connection to her that is important much like Cindy does. Barney’s sister makes alot of sense, since he didnt know his real father and the sister was in School whenbarney meets his dad.
Barney has a sister from his dad Jerry who is now in college. THAT is the mother!
A) She’s in college. Ted accidentally taught a class for a few minutes and said the mother was in that class.
B) That would explain why she’s at Barney’s wedding, where Ted admits to meeting the mother.
Aside: The wedding is Barney and Robin. The episode S7E9 “Disaster Averted” shows Barney and Robin making out in the cab, despite both having a boyfriend/girlfriend. Also, in all of the previews of Barney’s wedding, Lily constantly gets Ted. Where’s Robin? She’s the bride!
Knowing this is almost weird though… Barney’s sister? I don’t refute the idea for a second, it’s just a weird thought.
1) robin is not at the wedding because of the lesson the gang learned from ted-stella wedding in forth season, never invite your ex at your wedding!!
2) ted says he met the mother at the day of a wedding, its not necessary he met her ‘at the wedding’. he can meet her the same day but after(or before!) the wedding.
Nice user name 😛
But to comment on
your third theory, from like 9 months ago (I just joined), They can’t be five
relatives, think about it:
If Ted marries Barneys sister, and barney marries Robin, they still wouldn’t be
relatives with Marshal, and Lily. And since Robin, Marshal, Lily, and Ted all
know their families pretty well, they can’t just coincidently be family either.
To people with brown eyes can have kids with blue eyes… It’s an example in nearly every basic genetics lesson
In my opinion, it’s not Barney’s half-sister. JJ is really young probably around ten, and as far as we know, JJ and his sister Carly (or whatever it was) aren’t that far apart in age and I assume they have the same parents. For all we know she is a freshman at college which would mean she went to school after Ted’s first day. Granted it is odd we never see her and it could tie into Barney’s wedding since he could meet her there. I also think that the kids’ mother is named “Tracy.” like in a A Belly Full of Turkey.
Lily and Marshall say that Trudy is married in the episode where they are supposed to set Ted up for valentine’s day. 😛
I like the idea of Barney’s half sister and Bump girl though…