Modern classic sitcom How I Met Your Mother contains some truly memorable characters and has stood the test of time as one of the greatest ongoing comedies in any medium. However, the core cast of characters may not all be as friendly as you might think.

Marshall and Robin are two of the main characters of the show, but they don’t hang out all that often. They have a lot of differences and a lot of reasons not to spend one-on-one time together. Here are 10 reasons why the duo might not be as close as everyone assumes them to be.

TIME TOGETHER

Marshall and Robin simply don’t spend that much time with one another. Much like the rest of the gang, they are constantly in a group, but even when separated they often go off with other people. It’s rare to see the combination of these two alone together.

Early on in the series this was made more apparent when they clearly didn’t have much in common. Perhaps it was difficult for the writers to know what to come up with for this particular pair, but they just never really clicked when on screen together.

GIRLFRIENDS BEFORE BOYFRIENDS

Lily complicates issues further between the two. Robin will always pick Lily over Marshall in a fight because of the girl code established between the two. However, this can also cause some other issues; Marshall and Robin have been known to fight over Lily.

In fact the amazing relationship both characters have with Lily can come at a cost. Both Marshall and Robin can feel a little dejected if Lily chooses to spend more time with the other person rather than with them.

BARNEY AND MARSHALL

Barney and Marshall also have a similar problem compared to Robin and Lily. However, this is a little more complex. Not only are the two really great friends, this can again cause a little bit of chaos in terms of who Barney will spend time with.

Once Robin and Barney have split up,  though this can only complicates matters further. Sure, things eventually become less awkward, but Marshall is still caught in this conflict and chances are he’ll back Barney up a little more than Robin.

TED’S GIRLFRIEND

When Robin was Ted’s girlfriend this caused even more of an issue. Since Ted and Marshall are best friends, there was always that dangers that Ted would possibly want to hang out with Marshall a little more than with Robin.

Ted also opens up to Marshall more than he does his girlfriend, and when the two break up, Marshall is there to comfort Ted. It goes back to the dynamic with Lily and Robin more so, as the couple are a little separated on who they are supposed to back up.

MOVING ON

Marshall is extremely honest with Robin, though. Whether that’s a good or bad thing is up to the viewer. It took Ted a long time to get over Robin and her living with him really didn’t help matters, but he was too polite to ask her to leave.

Marshall had to do the noble thing and let Robin know how Ted felt. This of course would give Robin a little bit of a cold feeling towards Marshall but also once again shows his commitment to Ted as a friend over her.

MERMAID THEORY

The Mermaid Theory might be another good reason as to why Marshall can’t quite bring himself to be good friends with Robin. Barney’s theory states that at some point, every woman becomes attractive a man no matter what their relationship is.

Barney predicts that the same could happen between Marshall and Robin; Marshall really wants to avoid this happening, especially for his chances with Lily. Perhaps he always holds back therefore even when the theory is seemingly disproved.

WALLEYE SALOON

The Walleye Saloon is one of Marshall’s favorite places to visit in the world. It’s his precious bar that showcases why his friendship with even Ted is flawed since he barely brings anyone else there. However, he decides to take Robin along.

Robin actually fits in much better than Marshall, though, which he feels deeply saddened by. He gets her kicked out of the bar, although he later feels bad and finds her a Canadian hangout spot. Despite this, it was still a pretty heartless thing to do.

DRINKS RIVALRY

The Robin drink is actually named after Robin herself which confused Marshall, and he denies it for some time. This starts a bit of a rivalry of its own that ends with Robin and Marshall having a dance-off to decide who is superior.

While it is a bit of fun, it shows how quickly these two can argue over something small. It says a lot about their competitive nature and this often leads to clashes between Robin and Marshall more so than the others in the group.

RELATIONSHIP DIFFERENCES

Robin and Marshall have had very different relationship paths. For Marshall, he’s been with Lily for most of his adult life and can’t really seem to fathom what his existence would be without her. Robin on the other hand has had a number of different partners.

Marshall seems to think that some of Robin’s behavior is a little unsavory, therefore, as he’s lived such a different life in terms of love. They disagree on a lot to do with her romantic life and he often disproves of her partners.

MARSHALL’S TOO NICE

Robin can be pretty insulting to Marshall, but there’s one comment that gets under his skin more than most ⁠— she claims that he’s actually too nice. Perhaps this provides a lack of respect for him on her end.

While some of the things on this list suggest he isn’t too nice, there are clearly two very different personality types at play here, and Marshall has been known to think that Robin is too harsh.