[ISiddiqui]

And I would counter with the fact that the Ted telling the story isn't the same Ted in the story. Tracy helped him to grow and not be the douchy Ted he was in the story. He was so changed by this person that he was content not to even officially tie the knot until 5 years and 2 children in. She made him let go of his silly ideas - well perhaps his daughter did (Ted was planning castle wedding until Tracy got preggers).

Ted is different, Robin is different. Doesn't mean they'll be happily ever after, but they are very different due to what life has given them. And it allows Ted to finally do what Tracy told him to - stop living in his stories and move forward. I don't know how much they showed how bad Ted & Robin were for each other, but when they were dating they wanted different things in life. And then it was a case of bad timing on both sides.