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Here's what went down Wednesday, June 18, 2025 on Beyond the Gates when Madison faced multiple Duprees for the first time, Derek made his break with Ashley permanent, and June brought a new problem to Naomi.
What happened on Beyond the Gates
On Beyond the Gates, the Hawthornes woke up together, with Naomi relaying that she had canceled her late client meeting the night before in favor of doing tequila shots with the distraught Ashley. Jacob, already having heard that Ashley had declined Derek's proposal, wondered why Ashley was the one who needed consoling. When Naomi stated that Ashley had her reasons for not wanting to get married, Jacob asked point blank: “Is one of them Andre Richardson?”
Naomi was shocked when Jacob proffered his hypothesis that Andre and Ashley had feelings for one another. Jacob was sure Naomi had come to a similar conclusion, but Naomi reported that Ashley had said no when grilled about it. Jacob inquiring into what Naomi's own gut was saying led to a quick romp, despite Naomi wanting to check on Bill and being late for a Dupree confab.
A hungover Ashley awakened to a shirtless Andre, who was leering at he, having worn her out the night before. Ashley didn't remember being with Andre – and that was because his overnighter had been a dream. Ashley gasped as her eyes popped open, but then there was a knock on the door...it was Derek, who had left his gym bag when he moved out. Though their encounter started awkwardly, voices soon rose, with Ashley not liking Derek proposing “as a Band-Aid to fix our problems.” Ashley told Derek she loved him and wanted to marry and have a family with him...just not with things the way they were.
Frustrated, Derek didn't think time was going to improve their dynamic – suddenly, Ashley ran to the bathroom and threw up. Derek sprang into action with tea and painkillers; Ashley wanted to know if they were going to fix things or run away from them, so Derek pointed out that it was Ashley who was running away. Ashley was willing to do pretty much anything else but walk down the aisle, and pondered if Derek could even handle marriage if he was already ready to give up. Despite Ashley's professions of love, Derek felt there was another reason she had refused the engagement...but he wouldn't specify what it was.
After Derek went out and returned with a latte for the recovering Ashley, she wanted to get into what Derek had meant; he inferred that Ashley was holding out for someone better, which Ashley denied. She swore she had never cheated on him, but she was hurt when Derek sniffed, “At least there's that.” Ashley wanted to connect with Derek, but the firefighter said that those days were over...and so were they. The now former couple wished each other happiness, and Derek added that he wished that had been something he could have given her. He took his gym bag and left, and Ashley cried.
Dani cheerfully invited Chelsea and Madison into the Dupree home, glad to meet Madison and mentioning that, while Anita was out of town, Vernon would be happy to make Madison's acquaintance as well – and Nicole was on her way. Madison was nervous; when Chelsea asked why Dani was making such a big to-do out of things, Dani chirped, “because [Madison's] your new girlfriend and you're in love!” Dani realized she might have stepped in it, but Madison said she felt the same way about Chelsea, making Dani all the more excited about introducing Madison to everyone. “Does that include your new boyfriend?” came Chelsea's cheeky comeback.
Dani tap danced around the answer, her tone changing when she noted that Andre had other plans. Nicole arrived, worried when Madison, the neurologist, was part of the sudden family meeting; when Nicole learned that Madison and Chelsea were seeing each other, she became flummoxed, not realizing until then that Chelsea wasn't straight but ultimately expressing pleasure at Chelsea's seeing someone. “That's a lovely sentiment, sissy,” Dani smirked. “Grammatically torturous, but lovely.”
Nicole, though blindsided, was happy for the women, but Madison became more anxious as the Dupree sisters mentioned what a tough sell Vernon could be. “Maybe this was a mistake,” Madison whispered to an equally uncomfortable Chelsea. Even Chelsea realized it was too soon for a family sit-down and clarified that it had been Dani who had run with the ball after learning of their date.
Vernon entered, delighted to meet Chelsea's “friend”, whom he knew nothing about; he immediately sent Nicole and Dani on their way and sat Madison down to find out more about her. Madison described how she had graduated at the top of her class at Georgetown Prep, studied medicine at Banneker/Key Honors College at the University of Maryland, and done her neurology residency at Johns Hopkins. Vernon was not unimpressed.
When Madison said that she didn't know much about the Duprees, Vernon proudly labeled his clan as “family first.” He didn't want to scare Madison; he just wanted to emphasize that they'd do just about anything to protect each other, which Madison found admirable. The former senator shared his feeling that it was awfully soon to bring Madison in for a family get-together; Chelsea swore the meeting had been Dani's idea and sheepishly asked, “Have you ever tried to tell her 'no'?”
The exiled Dupree sisters discussed the timing of bombarding Madison with family and the status of Bill's recovery, which Nicole felt Dani knew an awful lot about. When Dani remarked that Bill was still the father of her children, Nicole replied that Bill was “low life scum who done you dirty.” Grinning, Dani giggled, “It makes me dance when you speak of Bill with loathing and contempt.”
Dani hoped Madison would be more careful with Chelsea's heart than Bill and Ted, respectively, had been with hers and Nicole's. When Nicole declared that she was tired of secrets and how much pain Ted could have prevented by not lying to her for nearly 30 years, Dani announced that she needed to confess a secret of her own: she'd been sleeping with Andre for months. “Andre Richardson?” Nicole wanted clarified. Dani's acknowledgement had Nicole fuming.
Andre brought Ted a latte and admitted that he'd told Dani about confiding in him about their relationship. With Pamela also in the know, Andre said, Dani was more open to the idea of going public with him. When Andre added that Kat and Chelsea had likely also put two and two together, Ted couldn't imagine what Nicole's reaction was going to be, since Dani was her sister and Nicole considered Andre one of her children. Andre was quick to affirm that he was only related to the Duprees by marriage.
Ted listened as his nephew explained how Dani had concurred that she was afraid Andre was going to hurt her the way Bill had. Andre hoped that Ted's prediction of Nicole being all right with the Andre/Dani pairing once she got over the shock would be accurate, since he didn't want to cause Nicole any more strife owing to the circumstances with Ted. Hearing that Ted had only sent Nicole flowers in the ensuing weeks following the revelation of Leslie, and understanding that Ted didn't want to push, Andre advised Ted to keep making efforts with Nicole.
As Andre glibly told Ted that, if things went right, he and Dani could double date with Ted and Nicole, and Ted's eyebrows raised as he deemed the prospect of an uncle and neph dating two sisters “interesting,” Dani pled her case to Nicole, recalling that she had already suspected Dani and Andre of being an item. When Dani stressed that her denial upon being confronted had been a falsehood, Nicole railed about everyone lying to “poor, stupid Nicole.” Ted had betrayed her, and now Dani was sleeping with his nephew. Why, Nicole bemoaned, could Dani not sleep with someone more age-appropriate – “or someone more appropriate, period?” Dani begged Nicole to forget she had said anything about her relationship, but Nicole seethed that everyone wanted her to forgive and forget, which was not that easy, and she stormed out.
Dani returned to Chelsea, Madison, and Vernon, the latter of whom wondered where Nicole had gone. After Dani made an excuse, Chelsea opined that Vernon thought she and Madison were moving too fast. Dani, in a much more somber space than she'd been in with the girls before, informed Madison that the family had undergone many recent personal struggles – and that Vernon didn't want Chelsea to suffer the way she and Nicole had. Madison firmly said she had no intention of hurting Chelsea, and Vernon believed her, spurring Chelsea to hug her grandfather. Once the women left, Vernon told Dani that he was concerned that Chelsea might be rushing things with Madison as a way of patching her hurt over how Bill had broken up her family.
Bill was home from the hospital, albeit using a cane to walk. Hayley was upset that her husband was pouring himself a drink before noon. Bill wanted to get frisky, but Hayley warned that he had ended up in the hospital the last time they'd attempted romance. Mr. Hamilton got grumpy, refusing the heart-healthy breakfast Hayley served him and sniping that at least he was done with physical therapy...then Hayley digitally unlocked the door for Shanice, who had come to conduct another session; she took Bill's drink away and refuted his claims that Madison hadn't ordered at-home exercises.
Shanice caught Bill trying to use Naomi's arrival as an excuse to delay his therapy. When Hayley recalled how the pilates classes she and Naomi used to take were much harder than what Bill was enduring, Naomi snarked that those had happened before Hayley had gotten pregnant with her little brother or sister, causing Bill to scold Naomi. Hayley understood that Naomi still held her getting together with her father against her, though she was pleased that Naomi was still grateful to her for taking care of Bill.
Hayley encouraged Shanice to exit with her and give Naomi and Bill some time alone, after which Bill groused that the PT was embarrassing; he also had trouble walking with his cane. Bill softened and asked if Naomi really needed to be so hard on Hayley. “Yes!” Naomi replied with no pause. Bill didn't think Naomi's comment had been called for; Naomi granted that her bad mood was really coming from her best friend's relationship troubles, but she didn't want to elaborate on that situation.
Naomi was glad that Bill was doing better and sticking to his PT despite his unwillingness; Bill joked that, had he known having a stroke would garner so much sympathy, he'd have had one long before. Naomi didn't find the quip funny and admitted that, in spite of her continuing anger toward him regarding Hayley, she found the thought of a world without him unbearable. Bill promised to take care of himself and held his daughter.
Later, Bill found Hayley alone, in tears. After some prodding by Bill, Hayley divulged that the recent ordeal was finally hitting her, and here Bill was quaffing drinks and twirling his cane like everything was fine. Hayley cried that Bill was all she had, since she had no family and no friends – yet she could have lost Bill and ended up sitting alone in their house, carrying their unborn child. Bill guaranteed Hayley that he wasn't going anywhere. With Hayley needing a moment alone to pull herself together, Bill made a call looking into taking out a $10 million life insurance policy...with Hayley as the sole beneficiary.
Naomi went to Orphey Gene's to respond to an urgent text from June, who was curious to know why Naomi had been so nice to her. She was nobody, June said sadly – she was homeless and couldn't even pay for the coffee she was drinking. Naomi found June a fine human being, but June didn't think Naomi would still feel that way after she learned that a “clean-up crew” determined to sweep away the presence of unhoused people had raided June's encampment and taken what little she had. Tears rolled down June's face as she recounted how they had even snatched her beloved photo of the two children. Naomi committed herself to getting June's belongings back.
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Ashley reported late to her shift at the hospital, where Shanice brandished a bouquet of flowers that had been delivered. After Ashley said they couldn't be from Derek because they had just broken up, Shanice sneaked a peek at the accompanying envelope...just as Nicole got off the elevator. Shanice noticed that the bouquet was for Nicole, who grudgingly read the card as Ted watched from afar.
Beyond the Gates airs weekdays on CBS and streams on Paramount Plus.
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