What Could Have Been: The Untold Ending of HIMYF

After years of fans arguing, guessing, and forming wild theories online, Hilary Duff has finally opened up about the big mystery behind How I Met Your Father. Unlike its parent show How I Met Your Mother, which had the luxury of stretching its storyline across nine seasons, the newer series didn’t get that chance. It was cut short after just two seasons, leaving viewers hanging without ever revealing who the father actually was.

Now that some time has passed since the show ended, Duff has started sharing what the original plan might have been if things had continued.

While speaking during an appearance on the “Mythical Kitchen” YouTube channel, she first played around with the question, jokingly naming Jason Segel as the father. Interestingly, that joke isn’t completely out of nowhere—Segel, who played Marshall in the original series, had previously shown interest in popping up in the spin-off before it got axed.

Duff also addressed one of the most popular fan theories—that Sophie would eventually end up with Sid, played by Suraj Sharma. This idea had people talking, even though Sid was already deeply involved with his partner Hannah throughout the show. Duff admitted she found that theory surprising, calling it a bold take from fans.

A big reason people suspected Sid is because he was among the guys Sophie met in the very first episode—the same night future Sophie hints is when she encountered her child’s father. But according to Duff, the writers were planning something far more unexpected.

She explained that the father wasn’t meant to be any of the obvious characters viewers were watching closely. Instead, the show was leaning toward a subtle twist—possibly someone barely noticeable at first, like a background character casually passing by. The idea was that as the story developed, the camera might have revisited that person, slowly building their importance until the big reveal later on.

That approach would’ve mirrored the storytelling style of the original series, which held back the introduction of the mother until very late in its run. As for whether the writers had a specific actor in mind for that eventual reveal, Duff isn’t sure. But she hinted that Kim Cattrall—who played the older version of Sophie—might be the one person who actually knows the full story.