Beyond the Gates Recap for November 14, 2025: Vanessa's warning had Joey confessing and Leslie was a pest about WinterFest

Here's what went down Friday, November 14, 2025 on Beyond the Gates when Randy dug himself in deeper about Hayley, Izaiah's reach into Fairmont Crest extended even further, and Naomi swallowed a bitter pill.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Nicole and Vanessa got caught up on the subjects of WinterFest and Dani's business trip that turned into a honeymoon. The women each agreed they had “been through it” having lost Ted and Doug, respectively, in their own ways; Vanessa cryptically said she was occupying herself with “side projects.” When Nicole suggested that Vanessa's daughter, Deanna, come home from college for a while because her grief over her father was interfering with her studies, Vanessa insisted that her kids needed to learn to “stick with it,” even through difficult times.

Nicole didn't want to talk about Joey, whom she continued to deem a predator, and she wished that Vanessa had come to her about Doug's drinking and gambling problems. Vanessa told her bestie that her grappling with the aftermath wasn't Nicole's responsibility, but she did concur with Nicole that it was friends and family that made hardships more bearable.

Joey brought Randy into the back room of the casino to discuss why, if Randy didn't know Hayley, Joey had seen the two together on security footage that had undergone digital forensics. Randy offered no answers, which made Joey even more suspicious. Armstrong didn't care whether or not Randy was having an affair with Hayley – he just didn't want to be subject to any blowback from Bill as a result of it. If Randy was lying, Joey warned, Randy wouldn't like how that problem got solved.

Vanessa arrived at the casino and found Steve, an old friend of hers and Doug's. Steve conveyed his and his wife's condolences about Doug; Vanessa seemed to be flirting with him, but her tone changed when Steve was delivered a hefty sum of poker chips. The widow McBride recognized that Steve had taken out a loan with the casino and implored him to go home and be with his wife instead of betting, which could lead to him losing everything. Her intensity got through to Steve, who excused himself; Joey entered, having been told by a finking dealer that Vanessa was talking Steve out of playing poker.

Joey declared that Vanessa had accomplished nothing by scaring Steve off, and he was annoyed that Vanessa seemed more interested in deterring business than aiding it. Vanessa didn't think that Joey should be making money from preying on addicts. When Joey dismissed her concerns, Vanessa said she was tired of caring about men while hating what they did – she still was unable to help her twins understand what had happened to their father, and she asked Joey if he didn't feel at least a little responsible for Doug's fate.

All Joey would say is that not everyone made good choices. Vanessa persisted, and finally, in frustration, Joey blurted out, “If I didn't love you...!” Though Joey wouldn't repeat his words and took his leave, Vanessa couldn't stop grinning.

Anita and Laura worked with a designer on centerpieces that would adorn tables at WinterFest. The matriarch liked the idea of having an understudy for Dani, should one of Dani's impulsive acts keep her from honoring her obligations at the event – but the women were interrupted by Leslie, who bandied words with Anita about having to double her workforce since Vernon had prevented Leslie's construction crew from working on her house after dark.

Leslie was unbothered when Anita announced she had stopped contributing to Barbara's trust fund, though she called Anita honoring her mother at WinterFest a “beautiful gesture.” When Leslie wanted to take an active role in the gala, Anita informed her that all the pertinent roles were filled but that Leslie could be a sponsor, which would earn her a star in the program. Leslie promised she'd come up with another way to be of service and purposely yelled “Boo!” at Laura as she entered from the other room.

With Leslie gone, the rattled Laura had trouble regaining her composure. Anita was upset that Leslie had needlessly frightened the young woman and couldn't believe Leslie was still walking around free considering what she had done to Laura. Ms. Peterson sighed that the police had never found enough evidence to convict Leslie, so she would just have to find a way to get used to Leslie's presence; she couldn't exactly go to the cops because Leslie had just bullied her. Anita swore that Laura had her and the whole Dupree family at her side to fight back with her.

Martin met with Nicole at Uptown, where they discussed how Smitty encouraging Martin to take a softer path with Samantha had been helping. Nicole advised her son that he wasn't home free simply because he had better learned how to handle one issue; children pushed boundaries as soon as they were able to walk, she said. Martin smirked that he had been a golden child, causing Nicole to joke that there must be press nearby for him to sanitize his childhood.

Nicole expressed pride in Martin for working on his behavior, and Martin snickered that he couldn't wait to tell Kat. He was still upset with his sister for blabbing about sex in earshot of Samantha, a minor, and griped that Kat always got away with murder. After Nicole shared that it had been going too far for Martin to brand Kat a bad influence, Martin said he would talk to his sister. Nicole also agreed to run interference and stop Smitty from making his not-family-favorite pie at Christmas.

Martin then ran into Izaiah, though it took him a while to remember the younger Hawthorne and that he had been the one to cause a scene arguing with Elon at Jacob and Naomi's wedding. Izaiah reported that he had grown since then, and Martin was impressed that Izaiah had been hired at Banneker University, remarking that Vernon taught there, and Tyrell was himself applying to the college. Izaiah proposed that he and Martin set up a pipeline so that some of his students might be able to intern with the congressman.

Anita summoned Nicole and fumed about how sociopath Leslie had enjoyed tormenting Laura. Changing the topic to WinterFest, Anita was desperate to find a way to stop Leslie from ruining the event; Nicole opined that there was only one way to do that, and that Anita wasn't going to like the sound of it. Anita reluctantly realized that her daughter was right, but she worried about how Laura would cope.

Leslie interrupted Martin and Izaiah, whom Leslie eyed hungrily. Martin bristled when Leslie proclaimed that she wanted to contribute to his congressional campaign; Izaiah's interest piqued when Leslie mentioned that Eva was her daughter. Leslie and Izaiah sat down together after Martin left, and Izaiah filled his new acquaintance in on what he'd be doing at Banneker.

The conversation was cut short when Leslie took a call from Anita, who looked to be in pain as she offered to have Leslie help with WinterFest in a more official capacity. “Oh, Nita!” Leslie exclaimed, promising that Anita wouldn't regret it. After she hung up, Leslie did a little victory dance at the bar.

Bill and Hayley hosted a double date with Jacob and Naomi at the country club. Jacob didn't want to bring his work into the conversation, and Naomi noticed that Hayley wasn't drinking; Hayley noted that she wasn't pregnant, but that it didn't hurt to prepare. As the couples continued interacting, the Hawthornes exchanged a look when Bill commented that “sometimes people we love don't want what we want” – in that case, it was necessary to adjust. Naomi nearly brought the evening to a standstill when she described how Dani was on her honeymoon, which Bill hadn't been aware of.

Hayley stopped short of accusing Naomi of bringing Dani up to make Bill feel bad; Naomi countered that Hayley should feel relieved that Dani was no longer a threat to her. Through a tight smile, Bill said he was happy for Dani and Andre, but Naomi wondered if that meant Bill had called off the private investigator he had hired to dig up dirt on the photographer. Jacob was in the know about that as well; Naomi said that was because she and her husband didn't keep secrets from each other...“At least I don't,” Naomi huffed.

Tension prevailed as talk turned to Ashley's breakup with Derek, and Hayley popped off that Ashley was in the clear no longer having to take care of a paraplegic. Naomi sarcastically asked if that meant Hayley would have abandoned Bill had his stroke had more permanent ramifications. The Hawthornes were open in their disagreement about Derek and Ashley, causing the Hamiltons to look on uncomfortably. Jacob was surprised to discover that Hayley had met Izaiah, whom Hayley didn't think would be a good fit for Ashley.

Hayley gleefully showed Naomi and Jacob a picture of the St. Bart's home Bill had bought for her, handing Naomi her phone. As Hayley added that she still wanted to give Bill a child and Naomi a sibling, a notification flashed on Hayley's phone; Naomi saw it, but said nothing until she got outside with Jacob and told him that Hayley had received a pickup notice from a drugstore...for birth control pills.

Once they got home, the Hawthornes were not in alignment about whether or not Bill should be told about the medication. While Naomi did think it odd that Hayley was taking birth control while making noise about wanting to have Bill's baby, she didn't concur that Bill needed to hear about it from her and snapped that Jacob suddenly seemed to be into transparency. Jacob felt Bill had a right to know and was confused that Naomi would want to let Hayley play her father. Naomi simply didn't want to step into that fray and was sure that Hayley was already shining up her halo for her next performance.

Trending

The Hamiltons entered their living room, with Bill observing Hayley's drop in mood. Hayley remembered how happy they had been when she was pregnant; Bill assured her they could try again once her doctor gave the okay, but Hayley lamented her hormones still being so out of whack that she was having to take birth control pills to regulate them.

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

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback