Beyond the Gates Recap, August 15, 2025: Derek became paralyzed and Leslie learned the identity of her real mother

Here's what went down Friday, August 15, 2025 on Beyond the Gates when Nicole and Ted separately threw themselves parties with different themes, Shanice gave Ashley a tutorial on how to nurse, and Anita thought it was safe to put Articulettes records back in their sleeves.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Vanessa and Dani replied to a summons from Nicole, who wanted them to help her celebrate her divorce, complete with a photo that had a sticky note pasted over Ted's face. Nicole set down a rule that no one was to feel sad for her, because she felt really good about moving to dissolve her marriage – something she'd only done after a lot of pondering. Dani recognized their mutual independence, since Andre had shelved her for the dull Ashley, whose only selling point was that she'd been willing to have a serious relationship.

As the Dupree sisters praised Vanessa for still being married, Vanessa shrugged that she had her reasons for sticking with Doug, but the union was kind of just there. Nicole caught her mood and raised a toast to women to bring the vibe back up. Dani purred that they needed to toast to Nicole's “next ex...whoever that may be.” Taking Dani's dare to cut loose, Nicole got up and danced while Dani and Vanessa cheered her on.

In his hotel room, Ted sourly told Andre that Nicole had served him with divorce papers. Andre felt bad but didn't think the step was much of a surprise; Ted, on the other hand, felt blindsided, since he'd thought he and Nicole had been in a “holding pattern.” Ted acknowledged that Nicole had been vague, but he still hadn't expected the end of his marriage. Commiserating, Andre relayed how Ashley had written him off. Ted was stunned that Andre had given up Dani Dupree for “the newbie nurse.” Andre was bitter that he had finally chosen to be exclusive with a woman, only for Ashley to play him.

Andre hadn't pegged Ashley, who didn't “run hot and cold” like Dani, as being so irrational. When Ted griped that he didn't know if it was in women to be rational, Andre scolded his uncle for not being husband material; Ted groused that he was done groveling to Nicole, who, to Ted, had been inflexible and unforgiving about the affair he'd had decades earlier. He scowled that Andre's wining and dining of Ashley hadn't worked, either, therefore he didn't want to hear any of Andre's advice. Andre noted Ted's self-pity, but Ted allowed himself a pity party after losing the love of his life.

After reluctantly joining Ted in “submerging” his sorrows (as opposed to being able to drown them), Andre reasoned that he had tried to turn himself into Derek, who Ashley was clearly not over. Ted shared that he found himself longing to talk to Nicole; Andre regretted not getting a chance to find out if he and Ashley had any staying power. Ted toasted to heartbreak as, across town, Nicole toasted to “moving the hell on.”

Andre asked Ted if he had ever gotten real with Nicole. Ted assessed that perhaps he hadn't done enough of that and decided that allowing himself to be vulnerable could still give him a fighting chance to save his marriage. Meanwhile, Nicole shared with Vanessa and Dani that she had no regrets about that marriage being over.

During a slow night at the hospital, Shanice noted to Ashley that Andre hadn't been around. Ashley winced but volunteered that, with Derek out of the picture as well, she was choosing to spend time investing in herself. Suddenly, Derek was brought in, having flipped over the handlebars of his bicycle while training for his triathlon; a paramedic said that things didn't look good.

When Ashley wanted to accompany Derek, Shanice compassionately instructed Ashley to remember her training and to page neurologist Madison, since it seemed head trauma could be involved. After Shanice left, Ashley approached Derek's fireman buddy, who had brought Derek in – he had also been preparing for the triathlon and reported that Derek had been careless during their course, speeding up on a turn, which saw everyone else slowing down. Therefore, Derek's lower back had hit the curb. Derek's buddy added that Derek had acted like he'd had nothing to lose; Ashley understood that to mean because Derek had lost her.

Ashley entered Derek's room as Madison told Shanice she wanted to observe concussion protocol because Derek had sustained a separate head injury months ago. Shanice shot Ashley a disapproving look, but Ashley countered that she needed to be there and approached her ex-boyfriend. Derek recalled the moment he'd made the error on his course; Madison asked for the location of any pain, and Derek realized that, in addition to his severe back pain, he couldn't feel his legs.

Madison determined that Derek had injured his L2 vertebrae, but noted that the exact location of the damage to his spine needed to be discovered by surgeons. Ashley wanted to be part of the surgical team; Shanice informed Madison that Ashley and Derek had a personal relationship, so Madison counseled Ashley to limit her aid to emotional support once Derek was out of the operating room. Once alone, Ashley told Derek she loved him, which surprised him. Ashley admitted she had tried and failed to get over him.

Jan rushed to the nurses station after getting Ashley's call about Derek. Crying, Ashley blamed herself because Derek seemed to be taking crazy risks in an effort to prove he was worthy of her. When Madison emerged from the OR, she told Ashley that, while it had been possible to remove a bone fragment that had been pinching Derek's spinal cord, it wasn't clear whether or not Derek would walk again. Ashley gasped.

Vernon was quiet, contemplating what a paradigm shift Nicole actually divorcing Ted would be, even though the Richardsons had been separated for months. Anita championed Nicole moving on, but Vernon wondered if he was to blame for both of his daughters choosing cheating, lying husbands; La Dupree wouldn't hear of it and was proud of Nicole for taking action. Just then, Sharon and Tracy arrived at the Dupree mansion and tried to convince Anita to change her mind about joining them on tour.

Anita insisted that the point of the tour was to show the world that Tracy and Sharon were stars in their own right. The singers appreciated that, but had to admit that Anita had made them shine on stage. Vernon lovingly said he would support whatever Anita wanted to do; Anita gently told her friends that there was too much going on with her family for her to leave town. Vernon excused himself after saying hearty goodbyes to Sharon and Tracy, after which Anita marveled over how the trio had finally been able to put the past to rest.

Sharon found the healing of their old wounds a beautiful thing, but she still regretted the decades they'd spent apart in hostility – which she admitted she had exhibited the most of. Anita had come to see she hadn't been able to face Tracy and Sharon until she had begun to recognize Barbara again. The Articulettes expressed wonder over how they'd been able to come together – Anita just wished Barbara could be there to witness their progress. While Sharon felt their show had brought Barbara back from the dead and given Barbara the credit she hadn't gotten in life, Anita conceded that Barbara had been overlooked because of her.

Tracy remarked that Anita had more than made up for her slight against Barbara, and Sharon was in agreement. Sharon owned the fact that she had only agreed to the concert to get her name back in the public and walk away with some cash; she hadn't expected reuniting with Tracy and especially, Anita, to be so gratifying. After Anita thanked Sharon and Tracy for forgiving her and for putting their hearts and souls into their performances, they left to catch their flight back to Chicago. Anita later told Vernon that she wished she'd thought to invite someone from Barbara's family to the show.

Leslie told Peaches that she was her real mother as far as she was concerned, since she had been “pushed out” by whoever her actual mom was. Peaches confessed that she'd had to be near dying before being willing to inform Leslie of the history she was entitled to know about. Though Leslie didn't care about a woman she wasn't raised by, Peaches insisted that the truth could change everything.

“Dana” replied that she had already been rejected “enough for a dozen lifetimes” and that she saw no value in a woman who had given her up. Peaches called Leslie stubborn and ordered her to “shut [her] trap” so she could elaborate: Leslie's birth mother had been a friend of Peaches' – a professional singer whose career had been cut short against her will. The woman had become depressed, yet had gotten pregnant a year after the disappointment. Leslie wanted to learn the identity of her father, but Peaches' friend had been tight lipped about him; it was possible the man didn't even know he had a daughter.

Leslie noted the irony in Eva also growing up with a father who didn't know she existed. Peaches said her friend had turned to her for help when she couldn't make it working minimum wage jobs; Leslie could relate, having always been followed by adversity. When Peaches asked if Eva was as rebellious as Leslie had always been, Leslie laughed that Eva had waited until adulthood to become defiant. Peaches recalled that Leslie had been a sweet child until hanging out with “alternative kids” as a teen; that Leslie had begun calling her Peaches instead of “mama” had been hurtful. Leslie offered a genuine apology and admitted that it must have been difficult for her birth mother to give her up – yet she added that she couldn't imagine her own life without Eva.

Peaches said that Leslie's birth mother hadn't wanted children, while Peaches hadn't been physically able to fulfill her own dream of motherhood. Because Peaches had been in a better financial situation, it had made sense for her to bring up her friend's child. Leslie lamented that it followed a pattern of people not wanting her around. Peaches begged to differ, referring to Leslie as “an answered prayer.” However, Peaches revealed that she had made a deal to take “Dana” as hers and move away, with the proviso that she never let on who had given birth to her.

Leslie snarked that her mom was a schemer whom she might have taken after. Peaches had been on hand for Leslie's delivery; Leslie smiled upon learning she had been the loudest baby in the maternity ward. Leslie learned that she had been named Dana by her biological mother, and that her middle name of Leslie had been a nod to her grandmother; Leslie became emotional over the thought that her mother had cared enough to pass along a part of her through the moniker.

Peaches remembered the tender expression on her friend's face upon seeing Leslie as a newborn; Peaches had worried that she had changed her mind about giving her the baby. Leslie cried as Peaches described her friend handing baby Leslie over because Peaches could give her a better life an act of love. Peaches relayed that Leslie's mother hadn't kept in touch and that she had died a few years later after giving up on everything. Leslie assumed her mom had had an illness; Peaches initially sidestepped the topic, but then disclosed that she had killed herself.

Leslie was confused when Peaches brought up The Articulettes; she shared how she had gone to their big reunion show and how affected Anita had been by publicly mentioning a fourth member of the group who had gotten edged out. Peaches floored Leslie by announcing that that fourth member, Barbara, was Leslie's birth mother.

Peaches didn't know what to tell Leslie when Leslie commented that Barbara hadn't been on any of the records she had listened to growing up. Leslie thanked Peaches for the information and could understand how conveying it could give the dying Peaches closure, but Leslie added that “knowing where I came from makes me feel like crap.” Peaches was certain that Barbara was working from heaven to make it up to Leslie for abandoning her – because Leslie was about to inherit a fortune.

Beyond the Gates airs weekdays on CBS and streams on Paramount Plus.