Barney Stinson from How I Met Your Mother is a master of lies. In his own words, “misdirection and deceit are my stock-in-trade.” And he has put his skills to use many, many times as he has lied to his friends, his family, and to women to make himself seem more appealing. But as it turns out, even a liar as competent as Barney can have a few missteps.
Barney’s lies didn’t always save him from trouble, and at times he would lie needlessly. In fact, there have been many situations where transparency and honesty could have got him out of a messy affair, but he complicated things by lying. Here are the most unnecessary lies told by Barney:
When He Lied To Nora About What He Wants
Barney really didn’t need to lie to Nora about himself. When Nora tells him that she wants to settle down someday and have a family, Barney says he wants the same things. He does it so Nora would keep seeing him, but Nora never claimed that she wanted to get married immediately or that she wanted a serious relationship right away. As it turned out, she was okay with taking it slow, so Barney needn’t have lied to her at all, especially as it made her quite upset when she found out.
Lied To The Gang About His Fake Family
In season 4 the gang finds out that Barney has hired an actress and a child actor to pretend to be his wife and child, and they visit his mother on a regular basis. He did it because his mom really wanted him to settle down and start a family. But he didn’t actually have to lie to his friends about this.
They have always had Barney’s back and have even helped him out with his hair-brained schemes, so chances were that they could have probably helped him out with this plan too. He could have at least been honest with Ted, Robin, and Marshall, who are not quick to judge.
When He Lied About The Playbook
Many fans believe that Barney really didn't have to lie to Robin about destroying the playbook. Robin knew everything about Barney’s history and was aware of the playbook’s purpose. Burning the playbook was Barney’s way of showing Robin that he was ready to commit, but he had another copy with him, but he could have been transparent about it. Barney later explains that the playbook is a book of illusions and that’s been a big part of his life till now, which is why he only destroyed one of the two copies of the book. But he could have come clean at the beginning because Robin already had feelings for him and was aware of who he used to be.
When He Lied To Marshall About Meeting Lily
When Marshall was heartbroken over his split with Lily, Barney pretended to not care. But one day after he sees Marshall crying, he flies to see Lily and convince her that she and Marshall belong together. But Barney asked Lily to not tell Marshall because he didn't want Marshall to think he cared.
During Lily and Marshall's wedding planning when Barney and Marshall got into a fight, Lily tells Marshall the truth. But Barney did not have to lie to Marshall about this gesture because he wanted to be best man at their wedding and this gesture could have helped his chances.
When He Lied To Quinn
Barney really had no reason to lie to Quinn about his past relationship with Robin. Barney and Quinn had a completely transparent relationship which worked because they were very similar and wanted to have a relationship on their own terms. They also accepted each other just the way they are so Barney could have easily told her that Robin was one of his exes. Robin clearly meant a lot to Barney so it's somewhat obvious why he lied but he really needn't have hidden this from her because Quinn would have most likely been just fine with it.
When Barney Lied About Being Ryan Gosling
Robin and Lily played a prank on Barney during a bet. They challenged him to go to the pub and pick up a particular woman. Unbeknownst to Barney, Robin had approached the woman just and lied to her about being Ryan Gosling’s assistant. Robin tells her that Ryan had spotted her and was interested to meet her, but while she waits for him she can’t interact with anyone else at the bar because it could make Ryan insecure. Barney realizes that the woman is waiting for someone famous and actually pretends to be Ryan Gosling.
He simply tells her he had surgery for a role, which is an outrageous lie. Barney has always been a creative liar, but this was quite weird and uncalled for because Barney could have actually told the girl about Robin’s lie and his honesty could have worked in his favor.
When He Lied To Robin To Confuse Her
Barney and Robin have been friends for a long time and they knew each other too well and didn't actually consider dating. But despite that, they both developed feelings for each other and had trouble admitting it. Barney, especially, wouldn't 'fess up his feelings but confronted Robin about how she feels for him. When she admitted that she is attracted to him, he actually lied to her and said, "whoa! this is going too fast." But in reality, he was testing Robin by lying about his own feelings. And he really needed to open up about his own emotions because that would have made things much simpler.
When He Lied To Nora About Valentines Day
Barney and Nora met on Valentines Day and unbeknownst to Barney, Robin had told Nora and her other friends about Barney’s history with women. So when Barney tries to bond with Nora by faking appreciation for Valentine's Day, Nora calls him out on his lie. But Barney would soon find out that Nora appreciates honesty and despite being a bit traditional person when it comes to romance, values transparency over everything else. So he would have had a better chance of connecting with her if he would have just been himself .
When He Lied About Ted's Mom
One of the biggest running gags in the show is that Barney never revealed Ted if he and Ted’s mother Virginia did at some point sleep together. He simply hints over and over that they shared something which makes Ted really nervous as Barney never reveals the truth. But turns out, Barney and Virginia simply had a cheeky moment in a car before he dropped her off at the airport, where she made a somewhat sexual comment. Barney lies to Ted consistently and exaggerates about what happened, and this lie could have cost him Ted’s friendship. Granted, it was hilarious for him but it was simply not worth losing Ted as a friend over a bro code quarrel.
When He Lied To Someone About Ted Being His Brother
When Ted and Barney met for the first time, Barney introduced Ted to a woman named Audrey as his deaf brother, in order to gain some sympathy. As it turned out, Audrey knew sign language and tried to communicate with Ted. This put Barney in a tough spot, but Ted also knew some basic sign language and was able to reply to Audrey... however, he ended up telling the woman the truth about Barney, and that she should give him a fake number. Given that Barney had no idea that Ted knew sign language, this was a huge risk to take that could have just ended up humiliating them both.