Throughout all nine seasons of How I Met Your Mother, Future Ted recounted the story of how he met the mother of his children, with every new love interest being a potential candidate. For eight years, viewers were on the edge of their seats, longing to learn the true identity of Ted’s wife.
Fans were finally introduced to Tracy in the eighth season finale. While Tracy is a likable character, many fans weren’t happy with how Ted’s story ended, or that Tracy was quickly killed off, so that future-Ted would be able to start dating Robin again. He dated so many women throughout the years that viewers were certain that one of these characters would be revealed as The Mother – who else would have been a good candidate?
Robin
It wasn’t likely that Robin was the mother of Ted’s children, as she could not have children, and didn’t want to adopt, either – as shown in her arc with Kevin. When he wanted to marry Robin, she made it abundantly clear that she had no interest in being a mother… which makes her final commitment to Ted somewhat ironic, as she would become a stepmother to Luke and Penny.
Stella
Stella may have left Ted at the altar, but that doesn’t take away from the quality of their relationship. These two were undeniably good together and had tons of chemistry. There’s no doubt that Ted would have been happy with Stella as his wife.
Zoey
It’s true that Zoey and Ted clashed in a lot of ways and their constant disagreements were what led them to ultimately break up. Her choice to put her own causes ahead of the relationship, and his similar choice to put his career ahead of the relationship, meant that the two were simply never going to work.
Victoria
There’s no doubt that Ted’s love for Robin is what came between Ted and Victoria. If only Ted had set aside his feelings for Robin, Ted and Victoria may have lived happily ever after and Ted would have saved himself some heartache.
Lily
This would certainly have been a huge twist ending, but had a lot of potential, too. Lily and Ted were incredibly close, and had been since college – and it would be easy to see the two as a couple, and as parents. It would have also been a better decision to have the Mother included from the start, as it was frustrating to have such an important character appear only for a final few episodes.
The Coat-Check Girl
The coat-check girl from the episode “Okay Awesome” would have been a flawless choice for The Mother. Not only would this have been unexpected, but it would have made a lot of sense – and she is one of the few great potential partners for Ted who was never really explored in the show.
Patrice
It would have been amazing to see a romantic connection between this beloved supporting character and Ted. Fans got to know Patrice a little better in season eight when she and Barney pretended to be a couple.
How I Met Your Mother: Quinn
Ted and Quinn never got together romantically, but they should have. Barney had no problem going after Ted’s girlfriends so why couldn’t Ted date one of Barney’s old flames? Quinn was intelligent, funny, and independent, all things that Ted was looking for in his wife. Yet, he never seemed to consider her for even a moment.
How I Met Your Mother: Naomi
Ted pined after Naomi (also known as The Slutty Pumpkin) for years. Ted met Naomi in 2001 but unfortunately lost contact with her shortly after. It’s clear that these two had an instant connection as they both remembered each other when they finally crossed paths in season eight – making her a character who has technically been around since How I Met Your Mother season one.
How I Met Your Mother: Barney
Ted and Barney may never have been a couple, but they did actually suggest having children together. When they were struggling to find the romantic relationships they wanted. While their idea was quickly dismissed by their friends. And they also gave up on it quickly, it could have been a surprisingly good idea. They are incredibly close, they agree on a lot (although Ted, unsurprisingly. Is more realistic about what it takes to raise a child). And they had quite a lot of free time and money between them, which would certainly help!
