| in Did You Know Facts
Ted, Marshall, and Lily were based on actual individuals.
![craig, craigthomas, ted, marshall, lily, carter, bays, carterbay](https://assets.shortpedia.com/uploads/2022/04/13/1649845302.webp?tr=w-1200,h-600,cm-pad_resize,bg-F3F3F3)
According to creators Carter Bays and Craig Thomas, they based their primary characters on their own lives. Bays spent a lot of time with Thomas and his girlfriend (now wife) Rebecca in their early days in New York. They modeled Ted, Marshall, and Lily after individuals they knew best: themselves.