Beyond the Gates Recap for October 1, 2025: Donnell didn't come home to play and Dani admitted her real addiction

Here's what went down Wednesday, October 1, 2025 on Beyond the Gates when Derek kept the cat in the bag, Andre told Nicole what time it was, and Anita suggested that Dani's antics should be sponsored by the letter A...and A.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Bill went to see Joey at the Lakeview, sensing that Joey had gotten rid of Doug after Bill had told him about Doug's plan to take Joey down. The pivoting Joey labeled Doug a drunk and said that McBride's death was simply a matter of Doug's brakes not being able to stop him from flying into a ravine. Bill continued to press, remarking that Joey had gone out of town at the same time as Doug's crash to give himself an alibi; Joey didn't deny the timing but maintained that there would have been no way Doug could have hurt him, even if he'd tried. When Bill observed that Joey faced no more obstacles with Vanessa now that Doug was permanently out of the way, Joey smirked that Doug had never been an obstacle and reassured the lawyer that he hadn't signed Doug's death warrant by ratting him out.

Doug and Vanessa's son, Donnell McBride, went to Garland Memorial looking for his father's office. Meeting Shanice, Donnell couldn't believe that the office was already being used by someone else, prompting Shanice to inform the young man that Doug hadn't worked at the hospital for months. Donnell was disheartened that neither of his parents had updated him as to that development and thanked Shanice for being more honest with him than his family had been.

After the shaken and out-of-her-depth Vanessa had to get advice about making final arrangements from Nicole, Donnell came to meet her at the country club. Vanessa was surprised to hear that Donnell had taken a leave of absence from Banneker University because he couldn't concentrate on his studies in the wake of his father's death. Donnell stated that Deanna had stayed behind but was leaning on friends and therapy, though he had to wonder if their mom hadn't wanted them at Doug's funeral because they hadn't been told the truth.

Vanessa saw that Donnell was upset over Doug's sudden retirement, having been kept secret from him and his sister; the realtor said she had just been trying to protect her twins, but when Donnell was firm that he'd get the full story from someone else if Vanessa didn't tell all, Vanessa finally told him about Doug's gambling problem. Donnell wondered why Vanessa hadn't gotten Doug help and was certain that Doug might still be alive if someone had clued him in so he could have aided his father himself. Vanessa was in pain as Donnell walked out on her. Later, Vanessa lamented to Anita and Nicole that she had failed her family.

Donnell went to the casino and found Randy, who reminded the college student about how he used to play basketball with him when he was little. Randy and Donnell moved on from childhood memories, with Randy explaining that he and Doug had drifted once Doug started travelling in country club circles. When Donnell assumed his father had only been coming to the casino to visit Randy, Parker had to admit that Doug had been a regular there, even on the night he had died. However, Randy wanted Donnell to remember Doug as the stand-up guy he had been and not think negatively of him because of his gambling.

Joey entered and sent Randy to see to something in the establishment, but Donnell stayed behind. When Donnell confirmed that Joey was the owner, he defined Joey as the one who was responsible for Doug's death.

Anita couldn't help looking at how alcohol had destroyed Doug's life and seeing the parallel to Dani's drunken wedding to Andre. Nicole let her mother know that her sister and nephew/brother-in-law had decided not to get an annulment after all; Anita wouldn't accept that and headed straight over to Dani's, where Andre hoped that Chelsea and Naomi, who didn't know he was their stepfather yet, would be happy for them. Just as the new Richardsons were about to play honeymoon, Anita stormed in and essentially ordered Andre out.

Dani furiously told her mom that she had no right to dictate who could and couldn't be in her house, adding that she didn't owe Anita an explanation. “You owe me for being on this earth,” Anita retorted, defining Dani's marriage as another mistake she had made while drunk. Anita insisted that Dani had a drinking problem.

Anita worried that Andre was a bad influence on Dani, but Dani recalled how many times Andre had stepped in to help her get away from the bottle. The matriarch was shocked that Dani hadn't come to the family about that and was hurt to hear Dani say that Andre knew her better than her loved ones did. Dani got honest and told her mom that her real addiction wasn't alcohol – it was Bill, who, before the blackout wedding, had come over at Hayley's behest to tell Dani he couldn't have anything to do with her anymore. Anita actually agreed with Hayley for once and reminded Dani that things with Bill hadn't been as rosy as Dani preferred to remember.

Dani confessed that, had it not been for Andre, she might have acted out directly against Bill instead of exchanging 90-proof vows with her new husband. Anita remembered how Dani had shot up Bill's wedding and was terrified by the idea that next time, Dani might accidentally hurt or kill Bill while under the influence and end up in prison. Dani needed to find a way to get over Bill for good, Anita stipulated, before Dani's fixation with him cost her everything.

The displaced Andre went to Nicole and blamed her for getting Anita so riled up. Nicole was concerned that both Dani and Andre were abusing alcohol and challenged Andre to admit whether or not he would have married Dani had he been sober. When Nicole heard that Dani had once again been upset after an argument with Bill, Nicole reckoned that Dani had only married the much younger Andre to get back at her ex.

Andre conceded that hearing about Ashley's engagement had been hurtful to him, and that the news had played a part in his marrying Dani – but Andre turned things around on Nicole and asked her why she was opposed to him marrying her sister when she'd been all right with him dating her. Nicole replied that she had only ever tolerated Dani and Andre's affair and cited the age gap between the two, pointing out to Andre that Dani would never want kids with him. Andre snarked that Nicole just didn't like the reversal of Dani being in a stable marriage while Nicole's was in tatters and told Nicole he wasn't going to get an annulment from Dani just to make Nicole happy.

Hayley saw Caroline investigating the legality of Dani's marriage to Andre and raged that Bill was obsessed with his first wife. Caroline denied that she was enabling Bill, and when Bill returned to the office, he ignored Hayley's demand for answers by tasking Caroline with telling him what she'd found. Caroline reported that Andre and Dani's marriage was legal, though there had been no prenup. Hayley told Bill he had one last chance to explain his actions before he ended up with two ex-wives.

Bill asserted that he was concerned about the financial ramifications of Dani's marriage, since it was now possible that Andre stood to inherit what Chelsea and Naomi were entitled to. Hayley called BS, reminding Bill that Andre had gotten a combined fortune after his parents had died and therefore didn't need Dani's money. Bill said he had charged Caroline with looking into things because he knew Hayley didn't want him getting info straight from Dani; Hayley was still pissed and walked out on her husband.

Afterwards, Bill received a visit from Dani, who refused his offer to get her marriage annulled within 24 hours. Letting Bill's critique of her “nearly incestuous underage groom” slide, Dani said that their newfound connection threatened both of their marriages, and that they needed to find a way to sever it before it was too late.

Bill recognized that something had shifted between him and Dani because of Chelsea's kidnapping and its aftermath; Dani realized that she and Bill needed to set boundaries of some kind, which was something she'd never been good at doing. The former marrieds decided that the best way to create distance would be to infuriate each other so much that they wouldn't want to spend time together. Bill went first, calling Dani a toxic mess. Dani shot back that Bill was a heartless bastard. But then Bill softened, describing Dani as “incredibly beautiful” – and he kissed his ex passionately.

At the hospital, Ashley told Shanice that she and Derek hadn't set a wedding date yet because they'd been too busy adjusting to living together again. Shanice knowingly asked if Derek had shown any signs of improvement; Ashley had nothing new to report. Derek wheeled himself into the nurses' station, having just spent time with hospitalized kids along with his fellow firefighters. Shanice wanted to put Derek through an impromptu physical therapy session, but he tried to get out of it.

After sending Ashley to look in on a patient, Shanice wanted to know if Derek had had any more improvements and sassed that maybe he'd run a marathon. Derek clarified that he'd only felt some twinges in his legs; he still couldn't walk. When Shanice said that guilt from keeping his secret from Ashley would only impede his progress – if he even felt guilty – Derek shared his plan to surprise Ashley by standing up at their wedding. Shanice fumed over Derek trying to pull off some phony miracle and straight up said that Derek was doing what he was doing because he was afraid Ashley would leave him for Andre if she knew he wasn't fully paralyzed. And none of that mattered, Shanice added, because Andre was married.

Derek hadn't heard that Andre had tied the knot with Dani, and Shanice was stunned that Ashley, who had known about it, hadn't filled Derek in. Shanice was willing to grant that perhaps Ashley hadn't brought it up because the subject of Andre was a sore spot between her and Derek. When Derek saw Shanice's point that Andre was no longer into Ashley, he decided that maybe it was time to give Ashley the breakthrough she had been hoping would happen.

Ashley gave the arriving Andre the cold shoulder, flaunting the fact that she and Derek were “deliriously happy” in his face. Andre responded that he and Dani were happy as well, though Ashley thought it odd that Andre hadn't officially moved in with Dani, nor spent time with his new stepdaughters as a family. When Ashley said it didn't seem like Andre had much of a marriage, Andre was willing to say that it was unconventional – but also that it was real. Ashley came around a bit, and Andre said she was one of the few people who supported his union.

Derek wheeled himself out to the nurses' station and happened upon Ashley slipping and telling Andre that his being married meant he was unavailable. After Andre left, Ashley saw Derek and asked him if there had been any headway during his latest PT with Shanice. Looking at Ashley, Derek cryptically replied that everything was the same.

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