Beyond the Gates Recap for December 9, 2025: Bill was floored by his diagnosis and Vanessa chose Joey over everything

Here's what went down Tuesday, December 9, 2025 on Beyond the Gates when Anita got Ahn-believable news, Madison did a father-daughter dance, and Vanessa continued to take a page out of Dani's early 2025 playbook.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Hayley laced another cup of tea with poison and brought it into Bill's office, only to find out from Caroline that Bill was at the hospital. Caroline told the unnerved Hayley that Bill had had a chance to move up a post-stroke examination thanks to a cancellation; Hayley declared that she needed to be notified about anything concerning Bill's health. When Caroline mentioned that Bill was having blood work done, Hayley got worried.

Anita saw an antsy Bill at the hospital, answering his query about why she was there with the news that she was getting a “50,000-mile tune-up.” Mrs. Dupree said that when she looked at Bill, she thought about how he had had everything being married to Dani, only for him to throw it overboard. Bill sniffed that everyone had moved on from that, but Anita commented that she saw how he looked at Dani when he thought no one was watching.

Bill countered that he was trying to keep the peace for the sake of his daughters and divulged that he had thought of both Vernon and Anita as parents, not just in-laws. Anita scoffed that Bill's interest went beyond family harmony and wished that Vernon had shown Bill how to be a good husband, since she'd never had to worry about hers messing around on her.

At the Dupree mansion, Vernon was on the phone, telling his caller that Anita and the staff were gone – therefore, they could “do it right here in the living room.” Vernon exhorted the person to hurry over. However, as soon as he hung up, Dani burst into the house. After expressing how startled he was, Dani announced that she had popped by to invite him and Anita to lunch with her and Andre. Vernon begged off because Anita was out and assured his daughter that they had accepted Andre into the family.

Vernon worked to rush Dani out, but Dani snickered that Anita had often told her about all the women who had thrown themselves at him – “including other Articulettes.” Dani knew that her mother didn't have to worry about her father being lured away; Vernon replied that Anita certainly didn't.

Hearing Bill say that he only wanted to be accepted as Dani's ex-husband and the father of her grandchildren, Anita decided to cut Bill some slack – though she did cite Andre as the source of Dani's happiness. Bill squirmed.

Caroline was ready to drink the tea Hayley had brought for Bill; Hayley considered letting her imbibe it but then snatched the cup out of her “friend”'s hand, claiming the brew for herself. Once Caroline left the office, Hayley called Randy, who was with Joey, and demanded to see him right away. Randy agreed and hung up, saying he needed to help his lady, Cookie, with car trouble. “Tell Mrs. Hamilton I said hello,” Joey smirked.

Randy met with Hayley, who was freaking out because their plan could be ruined by Bill's blood tests; Parker assured his cousin that the poison he had procured was undetectable. Furthermore, Randy vouched for “his guy” and the quality of both batches he had supplied. Randy didn't want Hayley losing it right when she was so close to cashing in on Bill's life insurance policy and the trust Hamilton had set aside for his future child.

Madison approached Bill with his test results and took him aside to discuss them privately. Though Madison cautiously studied her clipboard, she soon revealed that Bill was perfectly healthy for someone who had had a stroke only months before. Dr. Montgomery continued to examine Bill, who wanted to know how Madison's Thanksgiving with Chelsea had been; only once Madison was through did she tell her girlfriend's father that the holiday had been a disaster. In fact, she and Chelsea weren't even on speaking terms.

Bill lent an ear to the venting Madison, who couldn't believe Chelsea had so readily embraced her mother, Willow, even after Madison had warned Chelsea about Willow's “act.” The attorney wondered if perhaps Chelsea had only been trying to be polite since she was meeting Madison's family for the first time, but Madison sighed that the interaction had been unbearable. Bill knew what that was like.

Kat was bubbly as the under-the-weather Chelsea emerged from a late sleep. Chelsea mentioned that she knew from her social media that Kat hadn't been at WinterFest; Kat sniffed that watching Ted parade his “do-over daughter” around wouldn't have put her in a holiday mood. Kat explained that she had spent time alone with Tomás, only for him to ask her to move in with him. Chelsea was surprised that Kat had said no to the request and grumbled that she and Madison were on “the hot mess express.”

Chelsea learned from Kat that she didn't want to live with Tomás until she could be absolutely sure that they were ready. Kat was glad that Chelsea understood her viewpoint and sympathized with her cousin over the problems she was having with Madison. Chelsea reflected on her chat with Anita and came to the conclusion that she'd been so eager to show Madison that she could fit in with her family that she had completely ignored Madison's boundaries. Kat saw Madison entering and offered to leave, but Chelsea invited the willing Madison on a walk instead so they could talk things out.

Vanessa entered the casino back room, saying through a forced smile that Joey had stood her up at WinterFest because he hadn't wanted to be seen with her. Joey reiterated that the mere sight of them together would spark rumors that could destroy both of them. Vanessa had wanted people to know that they were serious and said she was no longer willing to be Joey's “dirty little secret.”

When Joey stressed that Vanessa could end up jail, Vanessa spat that he was only trying to scare her with worst-case scenarios. The casino owner insisted he was only trying to protect Vanessa, their businesses – legal and otherwise – and their relationship, but Vanessa felt that if she and Joey had shown up together at WinterFest, it would have thrown people off the scent.

Joey couldn't square Vanessa's desire to go public with her railroading Donnell into go back to college weeks earlier so that the student wouldn't find out about them. Vanessa reported that news of their togetherness wouldn't get back to either of her twins, who weren't coming home for Christmas besides, but Joey predicted that they would be back eventually and surely wouldn't approve of their mother having moved on with a new man so quickly after Doug's death – and the DMV wouldn't approve, either.

Vanessa didn't care after having to suppress her true desires all the years she was married to Doug, to whom she'd been invisible. Joey understood that Vanessa didn't want to hide anymore, but was still adamant that they keep things status quo. In response, Vanessa proclaimed that she wanted to hit pause on their relationship and walked out, slamming the door behind her.

Anita returned home, calling out for Vernon and uttering “Oh, my God” – upon seeing that he had set a romantic dinner for two and flown in a meal from Dooky Chase, one of Anita's favorite New Orleans restaurants. Vernon recalled dining there with her when she'd performed in the Big Easy as he was getting his political career started. Anita beamed as Vernon said he wanted to celebrate her and their love – and joked that usually men had to be in the doghouse to be so thoughtful. Later, Vernon, having given Rowena the night off, took the dishes to the kitchen – and Anita got a call from her physician, Dr. Ahn, who wanted her to take more tests.

Andre was surprised to hear that his in-laws weren't coming to the country club to join him and Dani, who grinned that Vernon had seemed to be up to something mysterious. The new Richardsons marveled over WinterFest, with Andre remarking that he had truly felt like one of the family. Dani was genuinely curious how Andre had felt seeing Ashley; he admitted he'd experienced some twinges and had felt bad for Ashley, who couldn't hide her sadness over the fact that her whole life had blown up around her. It was something Andre could relate to.

Dani admired Andre's ability to see in others what most missed but advised him not to let Ashley cry on his shoulder...because Dani didn't want to share her man. Andre promised that Dani would never have to worry about that – as they kissed, Vanessa, who was at the bar, caught sight of them and grimaced. Then, Anastasia, the local gossip, walked by and noted that Vanessa was day drinking alone. “How very last husband of you,” the snob jeered.

Drunk, Vanessa asked if Anastasia didn't have something better to do, like order an escort or cry through a Botox treatment. Anastasia accused Vanessa of projecting and clapped back that Vanessa was the one who could use the TLC that she'd been peddling to other female members. After Anastasia snarked that Vanessa could no longer keep a man's attention and strutted away, Vanessa couldn't keep her tears in.

Dani was about to leave to check in on Chelsea when the soused Vanessa intruded on the Richardsons. With Dani's guarantee that Andre could be trusted, Vanessa cried about how Joey hadn't even tried to stop her from leaving, which had made her feel like she didn't matter to him. Vanessa didn't want to hear Dani's thought that maybe fate was stepping in to free her from Joey and barked that she was tired of living up to everyone else's expectations.

Anastasia sauntered to the table and haughtily told Vanessa to keep her volume down. Vanessa responded to Anastasia's recommendation that she take some smelling salts by telling the socialite she could “blow them up [her] – ”...Dani cut in, ready to take Vanessa home. But then Joey arrived, swept Vanessa into his arms, and kissed her in front of everyone in attendance at the country club.

Hayley, returning to Bill's office and making the decision to “speed this up,” barely got her extra drops of poison into Bill's tea when he arrived as well. Learning that Bill had aced his exam, Hayley attributed it to the herbal concoction and subtly ordered him to drink it. As Hayley chattered that they might go to their new house in St. Bart's for Christmas, Bill nearly recoiled from the taste of his tea but finished it anyway. Yet, when he stood up, he couldn't finish his sentence and called out Hayley's name before collapsing on the floor.

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