In season three, Robin comes back from Argentina, and Ted finally gets to accept that he and Robin are just friends. Marshall and Lily move to another town, living in a place they could not pay for. Marshall discovers that Lily has bad credit rating because she is an impulsive buyer. However, they still manage to buy the apartment they wanted. Unfortunately, they find out that the place they are staying in is near a sewage treatment plant. To make things worse, they discover that the floor on their apartment is badly made. Meanwhile, during Thanksgiving, Marshall slaps Barney for the third time.

This season shows that Ted met “your mother” when he saw her holding a yellow umbrella. Trying to court the dermatologist Stella , Ted goes to her to ask her to remove his not so nice tattoo.