While How I Met Your Mother is about Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor), the story does focus on his best friends Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), and Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris). Lily in particular has captured a lot of fan attention as she’s a bubbly, funny, and quirky character who has a zest for life.

Some fans ship Ted and Lily, but the majority of HIMYM fans are always going to see Lily and Marshall as the perfect pair. Lily gets as much screentime as Ted over all nine seasons of the sitcom, and while there are some ways that she is always familiar and comforting, she makes some key changes in her life as well.

10 Changed: She Becomes A Wife And Mother

Marshall and Lily have a great relationship, and it’s one that changes and grows quite a lot through all nine seasons of the show.

Lily changes as in the pilot, she’s Marshall’s girlfriend, and even though they’re incredibly close (so close that they even tell each other what they eat every day), it’s not a guarantee that they will end up together. They both have some issues and insecurities that they have to deal with. By the end of the series, she’s a wife and a mother of three children. Lily is expecting in the season six episode “Challenge Accepted” and she has baby boy Marvin in “The Magician’s Code – Part One.” It’s super emotional to see how much their relationship has evolved.

9 The Same: She’s Bad At Keeping Secrets

One of the main things that people know about Lily is that she can’t keep any secrets. Some viewers can relate to this, as people are either trustworthy or have loose lips.

Everyone learns in season three that Lily loves shopping more than anything and that she can really spend a ton during each trip. This is meant to be the biggest thing that she has ever kept to herself, as she usually can’t hold anything inside. This is an aspect of Lily’s character that stays the same.

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8 Changed: She Considers Leaving NYC Behind

In the season one finale, Lily goes to San Francisco and considers leaving NYC behind, and leaving Marshall behind too. She wants to explore her artistic side and thinks that painting will make her happier than living in Manhattan, marrying Marshall, and teaching.

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Lily has some issues as a character and this isn’t exactly her finest moment. It proves that she does change from season one until the finale, as she goes through a bit of a crisis in her life. She wonders if she really can get married and keep living her same lifestyle, and she considers something totally different. Thankfully, she comes back and gets back together with her one true love.

7 The Same: She Loves Teaching Kindergarten

Something that stays the same about Lily is how much she loves teaching kindergarten.

While she quits her job and tries some other things, this is where her heart lies, and she knows that this is the only career for her. She has all the right qualities, as she’s kind, silly, and childlike. There are some truly wonderful movie teachers and Lily is one of the best teachers on a TV show. She seems to really care about her job and students.

6 Changed: Lily Moves To Rome

In the season 8 episode “Romewood Bound,” Lily gets the opportunity of a lifetime: to move to Rome to work for the Captain as a consultant.

Marshall and Lily end up moving to Italy for a year, and this is a huge change for both of them. Instead of staying in one place (NYC) her whole adult life, Lily takes this risk and it’s inspiring to see her doing something creative and different.

5 The Same: Lily Talks About Finding Robin Attractive

Robin and Lily are best friends but Lily also talks about finding Robin attractive in more than one episode. This is one aspect of this character that remains the same throughout the show.

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In the episode called “The Rebound Girl,” she says that Robin sometimes appears in her dreams. Lily also talks about how great Robin looks in many episodes, especially in the season four episodes “Do I Know You?” and “I Heart NJ.”

4 Changed: She Gets Over Her Fears

For the first few seasons, Marshall and Lily talk about starting a family but they talk about their fears surrounding this big life change just as much. It’s not clear if they can get over that hurdle.

Lily changes during the show because she gets over her fears. She realizes that she wants to be a mom and when she gives birth to their baby boy, it’s such a sweet moment. By the finale, she and Marshall are parents of three kids, and it’s a moving tribute to how people can push through what terrifies them and end up in a great place.

3 The Same: She Cherishes Her Friendships With Ted, Robin, And Barney

The HIMYM characters have a close friendship and Lily stays tight with her three pals Ted, Robin, and Barney, even though everyone goes through a lot of changes in their lives.

It’s nice to see these friendships remain intact, as so many times, people drift apart as they get engaged, married, start families, move, and change jobs. Lily makes sure to stay close with her friends and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

2 Changed: She Has A Few Apartments

Lily has an apartment of her own that is turned into a Chinese restaurant, and that’s just one place that she lives on HIMYM. This character has quite a few residences throughout the course of the sitcom. Before moving in together on their own, Lily and Marshall also live with Ted.

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In the final episode, fans learn that in October 2016, Marshall and Lily decide that they should move. They have a Halloween bash at their apartment for one last celebration.

1 The Same: She Knows Marshall Is Her Soulmate

Even though Marshall and Lily go through some hard times in their relationship, which makes them feel like a more real and honest couple than most on sitcoms, she always knows that he’s her soulmate.

Lily loves Marshall more than anything, and this remains the same even when other things about her change on How I Met Your Mother. Even if they did break up for good at the end of season one, chances are she would have continued to be in love with him.

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About The Author


Aya Tsintziras
(1730 Articles Published)

Aya Tsintziras is a freelance writer who writes about pop culture and TV. She has a Political Science degree from the University of Toronto and a Masters of Journalism from Ryerson University. She loves coffee, reading, working out, and watching TV. She lives in Toronto with her husband.

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