Beyond the Gates Recap, July 28, 2025: June's children were identified and Ashley got Andre à la Paris

Here's what went down Monday, July 28, 2025 on Beyond the Gates when Leslie had Eva broker a loan, Shanice tried to pop Ashley's Andre bubble, and Kat and Chelsea went ABC Afterschool Special.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Shanice tried to make conversation with an evasive Ashley, who denied she was jealous of Shanice spending time with Derek – then took note of how quickly Shanice had “pounced” on him. Ashley scoffed when Shanice admitted she liked to “sample the vanilla side of the menu now and then”; Shanice maintained that she and Derek were just friends, but offered to step away from him since it bothered Ashley so much.

“Do whatever you want,” Ashley replied exasperatedly. Shanice realized Ashley still had feelings for Derek; Ashley let down her wall and admitted she missed him sleeping next to her and “stalk[ed] his IG photos like it's my job” – but immediately became defensive again, declaring that Shanice could date Derek, or marry him if she wanted. Shanice didn't believe that Ashley was over him, even after she said she had moved on. Andre got off the elevator, which made Ashley uncomfortable.

Shanice snarked that she would leave Andre alone since she didn't want Ashley to think she was raiding her little black book. After Shanice departed, Andre noted that he had come to see a patient of Ted's, but that “she” had cancelled her appointment. When Ashley breezily figured the woman must be one Andre had photographed abroad, Andre sensed jealousy in her. Andre asked Ashley out for dinner; she wondered how a man who committed supermodels to film would be interested in a woman rocking scrubs. She had never ventured beyond the East Coast...though she had frequented a soul food restaurant, not knowing that Andre was also a fan of the place.

Andre said he was interested in the real and pondered where in the world Ashley would want to travel, given the choice. She joked about him taking her to an exotic locale as his photographer's assistant, but Andre would only say, “You'll be surprised by what might develop.” Ashley had to admit she'd always wanted to see Paris, as she'd been enamored with a picture book of the locale as a child. Andre postponed their dinner plans and raced off, leaving Ashley confused.

Soon after, a delivery came for Ashley. Shanice nosed around as Ashley unboxed a beret and a card from Andre, which included French phrases and an invitation for Ashley to meet him at his place as soon as she got off work. After commenting that Ashley had “traded up” from firefighter to world traveler, Shanice turned things around and accused Ashley of doing the pouncing. Ashley tried on the beret as Shanice warned her not to get upset when Andre started hanging out with his supermodel friends.

Ashley arrived at Andre's pad, which he had decked out like a Parisian bistro, complete with music and a shot of the Eiffel Tower on his TV. Andre smiled that he specialized in dreams; Ashley was breathless that someone had done something like that for her. The shutterbug pulled out a chair for Ashley and labeled himself her personal tour guide through the City of Lights.

Leslie and Eva dined at Orphey Gene's, reminiscing about how they used to pig out at buffets. Her mother's friendliness led Eva to recall that Leslie usually had an angle. Leslie did: she wanted Eva to pay for their meals. Eva got Leslie to reveal that she had lost her position as a bartender; Leslie also hadn't had much luck finding a waitressing job. Eva hadn't realized that Leslie's finances were so tight and asked Leslie what she was going to do. Getting an idea, Leslie said she had someone to see and took off.

Jacob ran into Leslie exiting the diner, then sat down with Naomi, who explained that she had been able to meet June's sister, Regina. Naomi relayed how Regina had slammed the door in her face as soon as she mentioned June. Though Jacob was of the opinion that his wife should step back and wait to revisit the subject until later, Naomi smiled that she had slipped her business card under Regina's door.

Naomi requested that Jacob take off his detective hat when he observed the disconnect between Leslie's accusation of Eva for sideswiping Laura and the mother-daughter duo breaking bread together. Naomi posited that it was difficult to distance oneself from a toxic family member and empathized by thinking back to how many times she had hoped Bill would change, only to be disappointed. As the lawyer lamented her relationship with her dad, Jacob saw Regina entering the establishment. “You wanted to talk?” Regina addressed Naomi. “Let's get this over with.”

Regina wasn't surprised to hear that June had been living on the streets, but couldn't understand why the Hawthornes had been trying to help her. Despite Naomi listing June's qualities, Regina said she hadn't spoken to her sister in years and had no intention to. “I know that's right,” Regina spat when Naomi conceded how stubborn June could be. Naomi asked if they had other family members; Regina didn't want anyone making June her responsibility. However, Regina softened when Naomi showed her the snap she had taken of June's photo on her phone. “Where did you get this?” Regina asked, lovingly regarding the image's children.

Jacob and Naomi were stunned when Regina pulled up a crisp photo of the kids on her own phone. They were Ron and Cecile – June's children; Ron was now college age. Regina sniffed that June had “decided that motherhood wasn't for her” and had abandoned Cecile and Ron, who had ended up in the foster care system. Naomi was surprised Regina hadn't taken custody of her niece and nephew, but Regina pointed out that Child Protective Services had absorbed the kids before she'd even found out that June had left them. Regina still loved them and reported that they had long since been adopted – but she and June had never been told by whom.

Regina described how she had even hired a private investigator to determine who Ron and Cecile had gone to, but the closed adoption had been an insurmountable roadblock. As Regina frowned that she would never forgive June for throwing the boy and girl away like they were nothing, June entered the diner and locked eyes with her sister.

Kat and Tomás got dressed, with him calling their “afternoon delight” worth the wait. Tomás couldn't stop raving about their lovemaking, while Kat was more subdued about the encounter. All she could say about it when Tomás solicited her thoughts was that it was “lovely.” Tomás found the descriptor odd, but Kat hurriedly remarked that Chelsea was on her way home, and that they had business to go over. Kat kept a smile glued on as Tomás left, and after Chelsea arrived. Chelsea excitedly showed the sullen Kat a new design...but noticed a condom wrapper on the floor. Kat confessed that she had lost her virginity, but had to force herself to act happy about it.

Chelsea knew that Kat had been planning to read Tomás' beads about Eva, but hadn't predicted the confrontation would end in bed. Kat told her cousin that the moment had been right, but when Chelsea asked if it had been perfect, Kat shocked her by saying she had hated every second of it. Chelsea offered that first times were weird for everybody; Kat reported that Tomás had been wonderful, and that her body had responded in kind, but she had felt out-of-body. “Is this what everybody's obsessed about? 'Cuz I'm not gettin' it,” Kat harrumphed.

Kat worried that she might be “broken” when Chelsea couldn't relate to her experience. Across town, Eva bumped into Tomás as she hurried out of Orphey Gene's; he wanted to talk about what had happened between them, but she was concerned about her mother and asked Tomás for a rain check. Tomás then had dinner with Caroline, who noticed that her co-worker seemed different. He thought back to making love to Kat, but his only acknowledgement was that there was something in the air.

Chelsea listened as Kat recounted how kissing Tomás was pure chemistry, but after “the initial pain or whatever” of letting him make love to her, Kat hadn't felt anything. “So the preview was a hit, but the main feature was a flop,” Chelsea put together. “Girl, it was like watching paint dry,” Kat sighed. Kat agonized that something was physically wrong with her; Chelsea figured that the fantasy of first-time lovemaking hadn't matched the reality and advised Kat to talk about it with Tomás. “I think your Puerto Rican prince will surprise you,” Chelsea prophesied when Kat fretted that her admissions might scare Tomás away.

Ted eagerly answered his door, anticipating a food delivery, only to find Leslie standing there. Leslie said she hated being in Ted's room as much as he did. Ted knew her presence indicated a motive; Leslie divulged that she was unemployed and asked Ted for a loan...one that Nicole didn't need to know about. Ted listened to Leslie giving her word that she would repay it and sniffed that Leslie hadn't kept her word since he'd met her – he refused to let her borrow money from him, ever. How had Leslie managed to blow through the $50,000 she had extorted from him, he demanded to know?

After Ted realized she bought a lot of clothes, Leslie said it was hard keeping up with all the “bougie Black folk” – and that the amount she had been given previously only made a dent in what she'd spent raising Eva. Ted stood his ground, prompting Leslie to remark that he wasn't the humanitarian she had known him to be; Ted reminded Leslie that, instead of staying away from his family, she had filed a police report against Nicole. “That heifer laid hands on me,” Leslie exclaimed before refusing to let Ted examine the neck injury she insisted Nicole had caused her.

Ted ordered Leslie to leave; Leslie became angry and balked at the treatment after single-handedly raising their daughter. Mr. Richardson countered that Leslie had robbed him of said daughter and was indignant when Leslie proclaimed Ted a decent man who would take care of one of his own. “I won't forget this,” Leslie said ominously as Ted threw her out of his room.

Eva let herself into Leslie's apartment and was dismayed to learn that Leslie had hit Ted up for money. Leslie wanted to know why Eva had become so protective of her father and decided that Eva was going to ask Ted for a loan – because it was “for your broke-ass mama.” Eva felt manipulated and was sure that Leslie would threaten to sleep under a bridge if she didn't help her. Leslie said that she would never do anything that basic – she would just stay with Eva in her hotel room. “Mama needs to keep these lights on,” Leslie added, imploring Eva to “work [her] magic” with Ted.

Ted was pleased to see his daughter, who wanted to talk about Leslie. Eva relayed that she knew about her mother going to her father for money, and understood why Ted had declined. But perhaps, Eva suggested, Ted could loan her the cash instead. She swore she wasn't being played by Leslie; she was making her own choice in trying to look after her mother. Ted respected the bond, but wasn't certain “Dana” was in as dire a strait as she claimed to be. Eva was well aware of Leslie's tendency to play games, but she still felt she owed it to her mom and promised to pay Ted back every cent. Ted consented.

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