How I Met Your Mother’s Ted and Barney are a dynamic duo. They’re extremely different but they also balance each other out well. However, these two aren’t exactly good friends to one another. Barney is selfish and often only cares about himself while Ted just doesn’t have much faith in their friendship.
The show seems to paint this friendship as one fans should root for, but as the series goes on, it gets harder and harder to believe that Barney and Ted really are best buds. Here are 10 reasons why Ted and Barney aren’t real friends.
Barney Steals Ted’s Moving Truck
It’s no surprise that Barney has a lot of moments where he doesn’t come off as the best friend to Ted. For instance, when Barney heard that Ted was planning on moving in with Robin, he stole Ted’s moving truck and refused to give it back unless Ted changed his mind.
Not only was this just plain manipulative, but it was also heartless. This was supposed to be a special day for Ted and Robin but Barney took that away from them. It was just a selfish move, especially since Ted moving in with Robin wouldn’t have affected Barney at all in the long run.
Barney Steals Ted’s Identity
Remember that one time Barney stole Ted’s identity and pretended to be Ted Mosby, Architect? While hilarious, this whole scenario was also pretty ridiculous. Ted didn’t mind too much that Barney was pretending to be him all over town just to get girls, but maybe he should have.
This whole situation ultimately made Robin think that Ted was cheating on her when she started hearing from other people what “Ted Mosby, Architect” had been up to. Honestly, had Barney been thinking about anyone other than himself, none of this drama would have ever happened.
Barney Gets Together With Robin
As fans know, when Ted fell for Robin, he fell pretty hard and fast. Barney knew how much Ted liked Robin and how broken up he was when things didn’t work out with her. So it’s pretty strange when Barney not only gets together with Robin but also dates her and eventually marries her.
While it’s not exactly a surprise that Barney did something like this, it is surprising that he would do it to Ted, who he considers his best friend. Barney had to know that this would hurt Ted, even if Ted sometimes said otherwise.
Ted Doesn’t Care That He Got Together With Barney’s Sister
In one episode, Ted finds out that a girl he recently went out with was actually Barney’s half-sister. Barney is extremely disturbed by this, and while Ted is apologetic for about thirty seconds, he quickly begins to gloat and taunt Barney.
This behavior from Ted isn’t exactly unwarranted, Barney has taunted Ted in several similar instances before, so Ted probably sees this as a form of revenge. However, it still seems odd that they’re okay with treating each other this way. Even if they think it’s funny, it’s kind of just uncomfortable.
Barney Lets Ted Think He’s Been With Ted’s Mom
Here’s another instance where these two have no problem making one another uncomfortable. One of the running jokes in the show is that Barney lets Ted think that he’s been with Ted’s mom. Barney hints at it on several occasions but almost always evades the truth when Ted presses the issue.
It’s clear that this joke makes Ted extremely uncomfortable, especially since he isn’t convinced that it’s actually just a joke. Ted eventually finds out near the end of the series that this joke is only half true, but either way, it’s still in pretty bad taste, even for Barney.
Ted Hardly Ever Tries To Set Barney Straight
Barney is pretty delusional throughout the entire series. He drags Ted on crazy adventures, treats women horribly, and even thinks his dad is Bob Barker. A lot of this seems to be a cry for help, and while Ted is definitely intelligent enough to see through Barney’s actions, he rarely makes an effort to help him.
Ted will interject his opinions here or there, but he doesn’t seem to care too much. More often than not, Ted lovingly rolls his eyes at Barney and his most recent scheme and moves on.
Ted Doesn’t Think That Barney Would Visit Him In The Hospital
When Ted ends up in the hospital after a car crash, he and Barney aren’t on the best of terms. Lily calls Barney to let him know what had happened and Barney hangs up the phone in a rush to go see Ted. While this is one of Barney’s best moments, it also shows Ted’s lack of faith in their friendship.
Ted assumed that Barney hung up the phone because Barney didn’t care about him anymore. Even though Ted and Barney weren’t on good terms during this time, you’d think that Ted would have enough faith in Barney to know that he still cared about Ted’s wellbeing.
Barney Doesn’t Take Ted’s Feelings Seriously
Anytime Ted is sharing his feelings with the group, which is often, Barney makes Ted feel like his feelings are invalid. Barney mostly makes fun of Ted and then tells him to get over it. Barney also often ropes Ted into doing things with him that Ted doesn’t actually want to do.
For instance, after a night out with Barney, Ted has to call on Marshall for help to recover from the previous night. If Barney’s going to be the friend to get Ted caught up in crazy situations, he also needs to be the friend to get Ted out of them as well.
Barney Tries To Hurt Ted With Abby
One of Barney’s least intelligent moves was when he was mad at Ted so he tried to make him jealous by pretending to be with Abby. Honestly, this plan just didn’t make any sense. Ted didn’t care much for Abby so why would Ted be jealous that Barney was dating her?
Of course, Barney was hoping to hurt Ted but it just didn’t work out that way. The worst part of all of this? Barney pretended to propose to Abby in front of everyone, and the poor girl thought it was a real proposal. Barney is the worst.
Ted Often Tells Barney He’s Not His Best Friend
Ted is generally a pretty nice guy, that’s why it’s so surprising that he so freely tells Barney that he’s not his best friend. It’s true that Barney hasn’t always been a great friend to Ted, but Barney is still part of the group and they all seem to consider each other to be best buds.
Ted definitely can (and does) have multiple best friends, so why does he always go out of his way to make sure Barney knows that Marshall is his BFF? It just seems hurtful and unnecessary.
