No other member of the gang has enjoyed better character development than Robin. She has been a pop star, reporter, morning show host among other things. She has also had a basketful of vices that include smoking cigars, drinking Scotch, and loving guns. Not to mention her adventurous and chaotic love life.
Despite being a constant source of joy and laughter in How I Met Your Mother, Robin has constantly found herself in unfortunate circumstances. She has also treated other characters unfairly on a number of occasions. But who wants a TV character to be perfect? The following are a couple of things that make fans feel sad for Robin.
She Can't Stand Children
Robin doesn't like hanging out with children. She often comes up with excuses whenever the chance to hang out with a child presents itself. In Season 3's "Little Boys," a flashback scene takes us to a younger Robin. Her sister Katie asks her to watch cartoons with her but she refuses, stating that she has to go to school all week. When she insists, Robin harshly tells Katie to leave her alone so that she can drink her juice in peace.
And in Season 8's "Bad Crazy," it's revealed that Lily once left Baby Marvin in Robin's as she went to get a pacifier. Instead of taking care of Marvin, Robin left him alone with Mike Tyson (he guest-appeared in the episode). She even left Marvin alone with Mike in a strip club.
Her Failed Career As A Pop Star
In her early years, Robin achieves little fame as a Canadian pop star. Adopting the stage name Robin Sparkles, things going well for her at first. Her singing career hits a cul-de-sac when she becomes obsessed with Paul Schaffer. She dedicates songs to him and writes journals about him. This leads him to file a restraining order.
Paul's' rejection breaks Robin's heart. She storms out of an interview and as she performs in the halftime show of the 84th Grey Cup, she declares that she will no longer call herself Robin Sparkles. She is now Robin Daggers. Dominant Records refuse to release her darker songs, marking the end of her career.
Her Father Hates Her Because Of Her Gender
Robin's overbearing and arrogant dad Robin Sr. has always hated the fact that he only has daughters. As a young girl, Robin is very keen to do anything to impress her father. She joins the pee-wee hockey team but gets caught kissing a teammate, making her father lament "I have no son!"
Eventually, Robin gets tired of being forced to act like a boy. Via a flashback scene, a younger Robin is shown moving in with her mother in the Season 4 episode "Happily Ever After."
She Rejects A Job Offer To Be With Don, Only For Don To Take The Job
In Season 5, fate mocks Robin once again. She begins taking her relationship with her co-host, Don seriously. She is overcoming her commitment issues and giving love a chance. After a rough start, the two fall deeply in love. Just as they are cruising towards a greater future but events take a turn for the worst.
When Robin gets offered a dream job in a different city, she turns it down. Choosing love over a career takes a lot of guts. It shows just how serious she is with the relationship. It turns out Don has been offered the same job. Unlike her, he doesn't prioritize love over his career. He takes the job and leaves.
She Doesn't Tell Ted She Smokes
Also in "Happily Ever After," Robin also reveals that she began smoking to please her father since he constantly engaged in the same hobby. Sadly, this is a piece of information that she hides from Ted when they are dating. Keeping secrets from your partner is a guaranteed way to break a relationship.
In Season 2's "Moving Day," Barney informs Ted about Robin's secret hobby, something that shocks him. Robin is later seen smoking cigarettes with Lily when discussing the wedding. In Season 5's "Last Cigarette Ever," it's revealed that the whole gang actually smoked occasionally. They made a joint vow to quit.
She Cheats On Kevin
Kevin is perhaps the most emotionally stable guy that Robin ever dates. A wedding between the two would have made sense. As her therapist, he is always caring and understanding. In a move that doesn't come as a surprise, Robin jeopardizes it all by cheating on him with Barney.
One night, she finds herself in a cab with Barney. She entertains the idea of rekindling their once-sweet relationship and ends up sleeping with him. She feels guilty but decides to stay with Kevin. Worse still, she doesn't tell him about what she did.
She Bullies Patrice
Being hated for possessing annoying traits is understandable but being hated for being nice makes no sense. Patrice is one of the kindest characters in the sitcom but Robin keeps bullying her and displaying feelings of hatred towards her. The feeling isn't mutual because Patrice likes Robin a lot.
Whenever Patrice tries to give an opinion, Robin screams, “Nobody asked you, Patrice!” While Robin's interjections and harsh words might come off as funny, they make her seem unreasonable.
She Leads Ted On, Breaks Up With Him Then Becomes Jealous
Robin's relationship with Ted is a very complicated one. She leads him on for several seasons, knowing that she doesn't share his dream of having kids. When Ted finally asks her if she really loves him, she bluntly tells him that she doesn't. Good then. Game over? Not really.
Whenever Ted tries to move on, Robin becomes jealous. She constantly tries to sabotage his relationships, even going as far as telling him that a specific woman is not right for him. She also can't handle it when her marriage to Barney fails yet appears to have a very happy relationship.
Her Infertility
Despite not wanting kids, being told by doctors that she can't actually have kids devastates Robin. This is probably because she sees it as one of the many unfortunate things that keep happening to her. Or maybe she feels that she might change her mind one day and decide to have kids but she won't be able to.
In her own words, she says: "It's one thing to not want something. It's another to be told you can't have it." Robin feels depressed for an entire episode, which she narrates.
She Lies To Barney About His Brother
During Barney and Robin's wedding weekend, Robin learns that Barney's brother James has divorced his husband. She gets worried because Barney always admired James's marriage and wanted to be happy like him. She fears that Barney might decide not to get married if he finds out.
Robin panics and decides to keep the information a secret. Since James hasn't mentioned either, everything will be good. This decision kicks off their marriage on a negative note. The move means that she isn't sure about Barney. Her fears eventually come true when they get a divorce.