Alert: This story contains spoilers for the very end of 'How I Met Your Mother'.
A gray-haired Ted Mosby finally finished telling his two children the story about their mom during Monday night's How I Met Your Mother series finale. But what the kids said in response was filmed nearly a decade ago -- and kept secret ever since.
Lyndsy Fonseca and David Henrie, the actors who played Ted's kids, Penny and Luke, shot their scenes for this finale in 2005, around the same time the series premiered.
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This means the duo kept the much-anticipated ending a secret for almost nine years -- even though they weren't sure if producers would use the footage for the finale.
Fonseca and Henrie detailed the fun fact during a Twitter chat Monday:
@peoplemag @Hopesloop @DavidHenrie We shot ending like 8 or 9 years ago. Watch tonight to see what happens!— Lyndsy Fonseca (@LyndsyMFonseca) March 31, 2014
.@PixiePaparazzi @LyndsyMFonseca We shot the ending of the show like 9 years ago! Wonder if the writers stuck to what I remember.— David Henrie (@DavidHenrie) March 31, 2014
.@peoplemag @rutika09 feels great. After tonight I can finally stop getting harassed by friends/family to tell them whom the mom is!— David Henrie (@DavidHenrie) March 31, 2014
Great episode. Incredible series. End of an era. Now, i need new secret ; ) @HIMYM_CBS #HowIMetYourMotherFinalepisode— Lyndsy Fonseca (@LyndsyMFonseca) April 1, 2014
In the finale, Penny and Luke reacted skeptically to Ted's nine season-long story time session, telling their father exactly what the story really means in the grand scheme of life.
"That's it? No, I don't buy it," Penny said in the waning minutes of the finale. "That is not the reason you made us listen to this. Let's look at the facts here: You made us sit down and listen to this story about how you met mom, but mom is hardly in the story."
"No. This is a story about how you're totally in love with aunt Robin and you're thinking about asking her out and you want to know if we're ok with it," Penny continued. "Come on, dad. Mom has been gone for six years now. It's time."
His kids' approval gained, Ted then ran out to express his love to Robin, using the french blue horn from the series' pilot.
What did you think of the HIMYM finale? Tell us in the poll below:
The ending polarized viewers, as evidenced by these emotional tweets:
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