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?
Hey… has anyone ever thought that the mother could be Katie Scherbatsky ? It just struck me recently that it was a possibility…
1) She got along well with Ted when they met in season 2
2) She was 16-17 in season 2, so it means that she was old enough to be in college by the time Ted got his job as a professor
3) That would explain why Ted calls Robin “aunt Robin” (and maybe also Barney “uncle Barney”)
4) That could be a sort of compromise for Ted and Robin not ending together
5) She’s clearly beautiful enough for Cindy to say that she has a roommate complex.
However, here’s what would need further explanation:
– What was she doing in the bar at St-Patty’s day and why did Ted & Robin not go see her ?
– If she lived in New York, she would probably have visited Robin at Ted’s apartment quite often. Katie would probably hang out with Robin.
– Robin would at least have mentioned to Ted that Katie was going to Columbia.
I know that it sounds quite unlikely because of the previous mismatches.. but who knows ? There could be an explanation for those, couldn’t there ?
Forgot to mention….
– Katie would be at Barney’s wedding if Barney marries Robin. Maybe Ted would be startled to see that the little teenage girl has evolved into a beautiful young lady.
– Katie does look a lot like Ted’s daughter
I love that this comment ends with…..lawyered! 🙂
Legen………dary! 😉
In the final episode of eighth season of ‘how i met your mother’, Ted will meet his future kids’ mother for the first time(first of two Big Days). This will be the end of ‘how i met your mother’. Then a new serial ‘how i married your mother’ will start, and there will be only two seasons of this serial. In the final episode of ‘how i married your mother’, Ted will marry his future kids’ mother(second of two Big Days). This will be the end of ‘how i married your mother’.
This is just a guess, what do you think about it? I would like to watch ‘how i married your mother’, too.
Barney’s Bride is Nora. Whether Barney would marry the Bride is a different question.
Four Possibilities about the mother:
(1)She is The Captain’s daughter(10%)
(2)She is Barney’s half-sister(30%)
(3)She is Ted’s perfect match from season 1 episode 21(10%).
(4)She is none of above mentioned three(50%).
Yes the mother’s name is Tracy! I noted this as soon as I heard it at the end of Belly Fully of turkey. So listen, Ted is at the strip club talking to a stripper. This is how it goes
Stipper: Hi, I’m Sunshine (or some other name)
Ted: Hi, I’m Ted.
Stripper: Actually, I’m Tracy.
Ted: Still Ted.
Future Ted’s overhead voice: and kids, that is the real story of How I met your mother.
Then, it shows the kids who react with a “WHAT?!”
Future Ted’s overhead voice: Haha I’m just kidding.
*THEY NEVER WOULD HAVE REACTED THAT WAY IF HER NAME WASN’T TRACY!*
Food for thought….
HAHA!.. Lawyered!
Oh! and uh… Lawyered.
In s07e17, Patrice(Robin’s/Nora’s fat co-worker) first time saw Ted,
secretly she fell in love with Ted (Love at first sight), but right now she
thinks she does not deserve ted, so she will be going to gym from now on……and then at Barney and Nora’s wedding, Ted will meet
the new Patrice(thin, beautiful, attractive), and finally Patrice will be the mother of Ted’s future kids!….true story. :p :p
I think it’s Robin’s twin or doppelganger.If you pay attention to the footage or photos of the mother- the ones her face was concealed- and Ted’s daughter you will see that they look very much like Robin.That’s why I think its Robin’s look-alike.And since Ted is very much in love with Robin.Its only plausible.Ted refers to Robin as “Aunt Robin” so it could be Robin’s sister.
It has to be revealed soon since its set in 2030 and the daughter looks at least 16. Which brings it down to 2014 when she was born and that means the mother got pregnant in 2013 and I assume Ted knew her for at least a year before he married her so 2012 people!
They won’t change the title of the series due to its popularity. Also after he meets the mother he can know her for tops 1 year before they have to get married or pregnant, unless they expect us to believe that the daughter is younger than 16. I believe that it is Barneys half sister since he meets her at his wedding. Also Barney marries Robin. He has to.
Yes but I doubt he tells them the name while he’s telling the story. The writers wouldn’t make it that easy
Except that it would defeat the purpose since ted would’ve said “and thats how I met your mother” it’s been confirmed that he hasn’t met her yet.
Sp has been revealed. Too old.
robin’s doppelganger is lesbian, and robin’s sister is approximately 10 years younger than ted, so it would be weird if she is the mother.
good calculation. every season of this serial ends in may, we know that the wedding is during the rainy season, so the wedding is in may 2013.
Actually, that would make a lot of sense, because then if Barney marries Robin, they are “Uncle Barney” and “Aunt Robin”. But it still would need some evidence to prove it.
good thought though! that’s funny to even imagine that it was her doppleganger hahahah !!
that would be so weird! but such a creative thought! atleast it would still be himym! and these are all good speculations but I don’t believe any of them will actually turn out to be true except of course (4)…. can we all just agree that this is the best show evaa?!!
WOW! that is a whopper !!!! go patrice go! (even though she is really annoying) if this is true I wont like the ending of the series
I don’t believe that if this theory were true, that things would have been made easy for us! the mother’s name is Tracy.. It’s basically a fact! the writers were just seeing if we would catch it! they are obviously geniuses! I just can’t wait to learn more about Tracy though
What do we know for certain?
– The mother was at the party on Saint Patrick’s Day.
– Her name is Tracy (read my below comment for explanation).
– She had the yellow umbrella.
– We saw her earlier this season in the rain.
– Cindy was her roommate.
– The kids are the making of her and Ted so there is probably suppose to be a resemblance.
……….. Anything else, fellow fans? What am I forgetting?
wow good calculation is right! so smart! lets hope for may 2013 !!
It HAS to be someone that has not yet come into the story! Two reasons:
1. The kids would have definitely recognized their own mother.
2. Ted meets her for the FIRST time at Barney’s wedding, which i’m guessing is with Robin.
So what’s the use of guessing who’s the mother?
Debate on who is Barney’s bride.
its Barney’s cousin sister..!!
If Ted is their dad and he’s married to Robin, why would they call her ‘Aunt’ Robin? I just call my stepmom by her name as does most people with step parents. It wouldn’t make sense for them to call her aunt.
YEA…MAYB
I think its Barneys half sister because Ted said he met her at the wedding of barneys. She is also in college. My theory…
They did say when HIMYM was over they were going to start a spin off series of Ted and his wife and kids.. so maybe. i doubt it will be called that though
Good insights. Future Ted says that Marshall always referred to it was the “Pineapple Incident”, meaning that may not be resolved
it’s victoria
Not to be rude Bro…. but do you listen to yourself when you blurt out answers like that? We have known for years that Victoria isn’t the mother.
I appreciate your enthusiasm but please… come on. 😉
I think it’s Barneys cousin, you know the girl Barney grinded all night at the club “Okay”?
(quote)
Actually, that would make a lot of sense, because then if Barney marries Robin, they are “Uncle Barney” and “Aunt Robin”. But it still would need some evidence to prove it.
But they also say uncle Marshall and aunt Lily…
TO THE WRITERS AND EDITORS OF “BEAWESOMEINSTEAD.COM”,
You are welcome for introducing to everyone the “Tracy Theory” it was 100% noticed by myself and I had never heard it before. My final theory is this: the mother is bump girl, named tracy, and also the actress that appears in the background of many other scenes. Other further relationships I can not say with certainty.
yes! Thank you! Someone else shares my opinion. Another fact supporting it is that the step sister is the ONLY member of Barneys step family we haven’t seen. They’ve shown us everyone else. Why not her??!
I don’t think that Barney’s sister is the mother ,because if the mother is the sister then why would she arrive at the wedding of her brother’s(Barney) late……..when the wedding is over & Ted is sitting outside the church????????………..just a thought!!!!
wrong – next theory
it’s the only one that still fits. I’m not even sure if we know her or not?! They are bringing the captain in a lot….so just maybe!!!
So a lot of the discussing can now be put to rest. It’s May 13th 2013 and the actress who plays the mother has been revealed as Cristin Milioti and not the “bump girl” actress (Nicole Muirbrook). However, the possibility of the Tracy Theory, that I have sole credit of coming up with, still lives on. If you are not familiar with it, the editor of this site wrote an explaination of it above. Tracy Theory for the win!