The successful long-running show How I Met Your Mother is riddled with complex scenarios. At the center of these complex scenarios is a dynamic group of friends. The first episode of the series sees the character Robin (Cobie Smulders) entering this existing group of pals.
Though her entrance into this group began as a love interest from main character Ted, she soon grew to be a respected and valued member of the gang, forming close individual relationships with each member. As the story progressed, fans learned more about Robin and her history. Robin’s scenes included some truly heartbreaking moments as well as some moments where she was downright appalling.
Hated: Conflict With Loretta
Barney’s home life wasn’t always the best. Still, he grew to really respect and appreciate the relationship he had with his mother, Loretta. During his wedding weekend, Robin began to clash with Loretta after a poker game in which she won Loretta’s blouse.
While she won the blouse fair and square, Robin knew that Loretta was upset and decided to continue to drive the wedge in between her and Loretta by rubbing her victory in her face. This put Barney in a very complicated situation and was completely unnecessary.
Felt Bad: Robin Sparkles Video
Robin was obviously ashamed of her past as a teenage Canadian popstar. She tried to hide this fact from her peers but they managed to track down video footage of her performing her hit song “Let’s Go to the Mall.”
While this moment was hilarious for fans and her friends, Robin was clearly mortified. Everyone is embarrassed about some aspect of their past and can understand how terrible it would be to have to share that secret with their closest friends.
Hated: Hiding James’ Divorce
During Robin and Barney’s wedding weekend, Robin discovers that Barney’s brother James has gotten a divorce. This worries her as James was Barney’s ultimate deception of a happy couple. She even begins to doubt that Barney will go through with the wedding once hearing this news.
In a moment of panic, Robin decides to hide this news from Barney. This wasn’t exactly a shining moment for Robin as she lied to her soon to be husband and demonstrated that she really wasn’t that secure in their relationship.
Felt Bad: Break-Up With Simon
Simon was a boyfriend Robin had as a teenager. She believed that he was her first love, but he dumped her for another girl named Louise.
As this was one of her big heartbreaks, Robin struggled to get over this. When she met Simon again years later, she still saw the same cool guy she dated as a teen. They began to pursue a relationship again…only for him to dump her for Louise for the second time.
Hated: Irresponsibility With Marvin
It is no secret that Robin is not a fan of children. In the episode “Bad Crazy,” it is revealed that Marvin was once left in Robin’s care for a short period of time as Lily chases a bus on which she left Marvin’s favorite pacifier. All it took was a few minutes for Robin to completely mess this up.
Though she lied to Lily for years about what actually happened, it is eventually revealed that Robin let Mike Tyson care for Marvin in Lily’s absence as she was afraid to hold him. She even left Mike Tyson alone with Marvin in a strip club as she went to the bathroom. Yikes!
Felt Bad: Break-Up With Don
When Robin begins dating Don, everyone thinks he’s a great guy. For the first time, Robin does the thing she was never willing to do – she puts her relationship ahead of her career. When offered an amazing opportunity in Chicago, she turns it down to stay with Don. After she turns down the position, they offer it to Don who gladly accepts, leaving Robin for this new career.
Hated: Cheated On Kevin
Kevin is by far the best boyfriend Robin every had. He is kind, compassionate, understanding, and intelligent. This character is probably the most responsible partner anybody on the show dates. He also is fun and gets along with everybody in the group, even joining them at MacLaren’s from time to time.
This doesn’t stop Robin from cheating on him with Barney. This betrayal of Kevin is probably one of the cruelest things Robin does on the show. Kevin handles this extraordinarily well and won’t even let Robin admit what has happened as he can tell she regrets what she has done.
Felt Bad: Finds Out She Can’t Have Kids
Robin was always very clear that she didn’t want to have children. Still, when she receives news that she can never have kids, she is devastated. This entire episode is heart-wrenching, partially due to the clever decision to have Robin narrating the episode, having a conversation with her non-existent future children.
This episode provides several of the most heartbreaking quotes from the series, including Robin saying “It’s one thing to not want something. It’s another to be told you can’t have it.” Watching Robin mourn the loss of something she never had and never wanted is sure to bring tears to the eyes of any How I Met Your Mother fan.
Hated: Tells Ted Not To Marry Stella
Ted was always chasing after Robin, but she made it very clear that a future for them wasn’t possible. Ted had finally moved on and was set to marry Stella. As Robin and Ted meet before the wedding, Robin decides to confess her feelings for Ted once again.
She basically admits that she has always thought of him as a safety net, an option that would be waiting there for her whenever she wanted and asks him not to marry Stella. This is extremely cruel, both because she admits that she expects him to be unable to find love with anyone else and because she asks him to abandon a relationship in which he is finally happy.
Felt Bad: Divorce With Barney
Much of the final season of How I Met Your Mother takes place at Barney and Robin’s wedding. It seems like these two are going to have a happy ending together – only for it to all come crashing down in one scene.
A time jump shows that Robin and Barney are having difficulty. Though they care for each other, neither is getting what they want or need out of a relationship. The two decide to separate. It is clear they are making the decision to do this before they grow to hate each other and that they wish the relationship could work. This only makes this more painful to watch.
