Here’s what went down on the Wednesday, April 22nd, 2026, episode of Beyond the Gates when Hayley had another situation to talk herself out of, Ted came correct when it came to his women, and Nicole put reason into Martin’s ear.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

On Beyond the Gates, Hayley was browsing luxury cars on her tablet when Bill came in with a giant bouquet. Hayley sniffed that the blooms weren’t a replacement for words, still upset that Bill had challenged her about Lynette – and that he had called Dani “baby.” Bill blubbered that the word had only been a “callback” (great excuse, Bill), one that had popped out over his relief that Anita’s cancer battle had turned the corner. Hayley milked the situation and then accepted the flowers, pouting that Bill had better not have written “baby” on the accompanying card.

After the Hamiltons agreed to take their making-up activities upstairs to the bedroom, Hayley left to put on something slinky, and Bill got a phone call from his office regarding the audit he had ordered for his various financial accounts. “It’s gone?!” Bill exclaimed, later seeming to go through the motions when Hayley traipsed back into the living room in lingerie. Although Bill assured Hayley that he was choosing her over Dani…he still wanted to know what Hayley had done with his missing money.

Bill was upset that Hayley hadn’t told him about closing a savings account set aside for the child they were no longer going to have, which had contained hundreds of thousands of dollars. Hayley denied giving the money to Lynette; Bill stated that he had only run a check on his fortune out of having been in such proximity to a known embezzler. Hayley claimed ignorance of how to process funds and swore that the check she’d had issued to her was going to be deposited in their main account as soon as she received it in the mail. Bill seemed to buy it and was willing to resume their sexy time. Dang, Bill, every time you get a bead on Hayley, she takes out the girls, and the lack of blood in your skull gives you amnesia. Hold your ground, boy! Hayley can’t keep getting away with everything!

Talk about, talk about, talk about movin’

Martin ran into Tomás at Uptown, where he was preparing the next surprise for Kat’s extended birthday celebration. Tomás laughed when Martin said all of Kat’s gifts needed to be supersized, yet also agreed when Martin added that his sister had a big heart. Tomás recalled Kat’s on-the-day party and how connected Ted and Nicole had seemed, which Martin advised Tomás not to read too much into. (Only Maurice Johnson’s Ted worked with Nicole. Don’t y’all dog Shanice, but putting the Richardsons back together!)

Kat and Nicole, arms full from having been shopping at the mall, found Ted at the atrium, enjoying some coffee. Ted asked them to join him, but Nicole had an appointment with Martin, which left Kat and Ted to catch up about the Fenmore’s deal and Kat’s decision to keep staying with the Duprees until Anita was in full remission. When Ted smiled over the fact that Kat didn’t like to live alone, Kat jovially fired back that Ted was the one who was still holed up in a hotel. Was Ted waiting to move out until he and Shanice decided to live together?

Ted truly liked Shanice, but he wasn’t ready for that kind of a step. Kat understood – she didn’t see herself living with Tomás just yet, either. Ted wanted the next time he committed to be his last, and Kat found his prospects with Shanice to be promising, giving Ted and Shanice’s relationship her endorsement. Shanice, take note – you gotta be special when you’re the only person outside the fam that Kat likes.

If I ruled the world (imagine that)

Kat walked into Uptown to discover the place had been set up for salsa dancing (nice throwback to their first go-round last year!). After she and Tomás sashayed around the floor a bit (and this time he had it down instead of being a klutz), Tomás presented Kat with a hand-painted plaque that represented a Puerto Rican front door. It was his way of saying he wanted to take Kat to the territory and introduce her to his loved ones! Having never met a guy’s family before, Kat was hesitant at first but soon warmed up to the idea, agreeing to go soon instead of waiting until Christmas, as they’d planned. (Man, even though soaps remain on limited budgets, how cool would it be if BTG did their first remote in San Juan? Save those pennies, you guys!)

Martin had his visit with Nicole, with the two giving each other updates about their respective lives, but the vibe was killed as soon as Martin mentioned that he was thinking about making a Senate run in 2028. Hearing that Vernon had cautiously supported the idea, Nicole decided that her dad and son had both “lost [their] damn minds.” (Is that your professional opinion, Doctor?) Martin had come to feel that, with “Kenneth” no longer a threat (you mean fertilizer in Stance Park, Marty), he was clear to upsize his political ambitions. Nicole reminded Martin that too many people knew how he had clubbed “Kenneth”’s brother to death and rearranged “Kenneth”’s face trying to save Vernon. She even thought that Bill had only broached the topic with Martin in an attempt to blackmail him. (It’s not too late to go back to Joey’s idea of Bill running against Martin. Make it happen like Mariah!)

In the same breath, Martin brought up his worry about Joey, then said that Joey would keep quiet about what he knew. (Did he get a contact high at Uptown?) Nicole recalled how Joey had casually acknowledged Martin’s past and figured that Joey would be “lethal” if he found any reason to go public with it. The shrink was even more dismayed to find out that Martin was falling into old habits by not telling Smitty about his Senate plans. (True, but Smitty got his own lies by omission. They’re perfect for each other now.)

Word to the badd

Ashley wanted to cook dinner for Grayson, who couldn’t confirm since he was on-call with one of his other side hustles (not the blood plasma ring). Shanice returned from a nurses’ conference in Indianapolis a day early and told Ashley that she wanted to surprise Ted, but he wasn’t at the hospital. Ashley brought Shanice up to speed about where Anita was in her recovery and how weird Lia was acting, especially since Ashley had started seeing Grayson. Shanice thought maybe Lia had an eye on Grayson herself, but Ashley wondered if Derek had filled Lia’s head with negativity about the guy. (These days, you couldn’t really put that past Derek.)

After Shanice gave Ashley her recipe for “sex me up chicken” (somehow that’s probably not what Color Me Badd was singing about), Ted walked in and looked glad to see Shanice, even if he hadn’t been expecting her. They were cuddling in his office when Nicole nearly barged in, huffing about the fire she had just put out with Martin. However, Nicole was plenty embarrassed when she saw Ted wasn’t alone, and she mumbled something about taking care of Martin herself before making a hasty exit.

Shanice looked like she was going to have an issue with Nicole interrupting them, but she told Ted that she had done a lot of thinking about them while she’d been in Indy. Ordinarily, with the kinds of problems they’d already had, she would have bailed, but she felt that she and Ted were heading toward something real, hoping that Ted felt the same. He was, and they decided to head out and show each other, acting formal as they waited for the elevator, but clandestinely joining hands once they were inside. Word to the wise: do not mess up Ted and Shanice! They are it!

Knife talk

Grayson lumbered by the nurses’ station, causing Ashley to assume that he was going to beg off their dinner. (Not unreasonable given Grayson’s disappearing acts.) He got Ashley to admit they were having Shanice’s “sex me up chicken” (!), then promised to pick up some wine as soon as he took care of some things. He went into the stairwell to call his mamí (for a second it seemed like Grayson’s dialogue got mixed up with Tomás’, but then again, Grayson is Latino, too) and check on her…

But as soon as he hung up, Ren showed up out of nowhere and plunged a blade into him! It really looked like he was twisting that knife, too! Brutal! Ren snuck out while Grayson slid down the wall, his hand bloody from clutching the side of his abdomen. Well…at least he’s already in a hospital!

Tune in tomorrow when Martin’s concerns about Joey’s presence manifest, Anita and Vanessa have a rare chat, and Madison and Vernon reconvene about the subject at hand.

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

Edited by Michael Maloney