‘How I Met Your Father’: Every Clue About the Father so Far

It’s the question of the century — who is the father of Hilary Duff’s character’s son in How I Met Your Father on Hulu? Unfortunately, it might be a while before we get an answer since the comedy series will likely run for many seasons. But the writers have been kind to fans and supplied us with clues regarding the dad’s identity.

The father is someone that Sophie met in the ‘How I Met Your Father’ pilot

How I Met Your Father fans received their first clue about the mystery dad during the show’s first episode. During the pilot, Future Sophie, played by Kim Cattrall, tells her son (who we never see but only hear due to the show’s diverse cast) the story of the night she met his dad.

Back in 2022, Sophie meets Jesse and Sid during an Uber ride to her first date with Ian. Sophie and Ian instantly hit it off, but sadly, he’s moving to Australia for work. So Sophie returns home to her roommate Valentina and her new boyfriend Charlie, who moved from England to be with her. And when Sophie decides to try to make it work with Ian, she realizes that she grabbed Sid’s phone instead other own when leaving the Uber.

So, Sophie goes to Sid’s bar, Pemberton’s, to retrieve her phone after Sid proposes to Hannah. But when Sophie tracks down Ian at the airport, they agree that long distance won’t work, so they go their separate ways.

At the end of the How I Met Your Father pilot, Future Sophie informs her son that she met his father that night. So the (current) possibilities are Jesse, Sid, Ian, Charlie, and Drew (who we later learned that Sophie met at Pemberton’s when she asked to use his phone charger). But there’s always a chance that the dad is someone else Sophie met that night who we aren’t aware of.

Is he a sperm donor?

Unfortunately, the rest of How I Met Your Father Season 1 didn’t reveal any more clues about the father’s identity. But season 2 episode 7, “A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Valentine’s Day,” provided some information that might rule out one fan theory.

Some viewers believe the son’s biological father might be a sperm donor. And if this is the case, then Sophie might not end up with the “father.” However, “A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Valentine’s Day” possibly negated the sperm donor theory.

The Valentine’s Day-themed episode begins with Future Sophie dancing with a singing bear while her son watches on in agony. She informs him that his dad bought her one of those bears on their first Valentine’s Day as a couple. So at one point or another, Sophie and the father dated.

And if we’re going to throw our two cents in, we believe this clue rules out Charlie as the dad in How I Met Your Father. We just can’t imagine them as a couple, especially given Charlie’s relationship with Valentina. Plus, Sophie and Charlie have zero romantic chemistry, and Charlie doesn’t want to have kids. But hey, stranger things have happened in the How I Met Your Mother universe.

The father loves Valentine’s Day in ‘How I Met Your Father’

How I Met Your Father Season 2 Episode 7 also revealed that the dad “has a soft spot for Valentine’s Day.” And Drew, Charlie, Sid, Jesse, and Ian express their fondness for the holiday in the episode. Even though Jesse initially declares he hates Valentine’s Day, he comes around to it at the end.

Future Sophie tells her son, “Love just feels good. Especially on Valentine’s Day. Just ask your dad.” That means the dad is also alive, so the show won’t take the same disastrous route as How I Met Your Mother.

The episode then shows clips of the father candidates voicing their appreciation for Valentine’s Day. And the show even sneaks in a future scene of Sophie and Ian on a date on Valentine’s Day. Sophie’s son says, “He wasn’t even in this story,” in reference to Ian’s reappearance. And Future Sophie responds, “Different Valentine’s Day. We’ll get there.”

And now we know that Sophie and Ian will reconnect in the future. But only time will tell if he’s the father or their relationship is short-lived.

To sum up the clues — Sophie met the father on the night of Sid and Hannah’s engagement, she dated him for an unknown period of time, and he loves Valentine’s Day. So the candidates still are Jesse, Ian, Sid, Charlie, and Drew.

New episodes of How I Met Your Father Season 2 air Tuesdays on Hulu.

For more on the entertainment world and exclusive interviews, subscribe to Showbiz Cheat Sheet’s YouTube channel.