Beyond the Gates: Beyond the Gates Recap for January 20, 2026: Kial returned to stake a claim on Nicole and Joey had the goods on Leslie

Here's what went down Tuesday, January 20, 2026 on Beyond the Gates when Vanessa handled a husband hot about Heart Attach, the Hawthornes got a living room, and Madison was not happy about Chelsea being on the pill.

What happened on Beyond the Gates

Whatever Joey had on Leslie was enough to (flash) drive her to drink on Beyond the Gates | Image: CBS

On Beyond the Gates, Nicole ran into Andre at the food court and let him know that Naomi had tested negative for the BRCA gene variant. Hearing that Nicole was looking for Vanessa, Andre joked that Nicole had been stood up – to which she conceded that she'd recently had to scramble for a date. Nicole was coy when Andre wanted details.

Vanessa was taking cleavage-filled selfies when Leslie happened by, startling her. Getting onto the subject of the clinic, Vanessa expressed her happiness over the facility being named in memory of Doug. This was news to Leslie, who made a beeline to the casino and remembered Marcel's warning about crossing Joey. Armstrong came in and put his foot down when Leslie applied one of her nicknames to Vanessa; Leslie backtracked but said the one name she wasn't going to be flexible about was hers, which was going to be emblazoned on “my clinic.”

Joey thought otherwise and said that the inclusion of Doug's name was a done deal. When Leslie was told that Bill had drawn up a contract for her to sign to that effect, she rebuked Joey for working with “Satan's cousin” and refused to endorse the document. Joey produced a flash drive which he called his ace in the hole – after showing Leslie its contents, she scowled that his info wasn't going to get in her way. “I may be down, but I'm never out,” Leslie declared, and Joey tossed the flash drive to her to let her know who was holding the cards.

Nicole and Vanessa finally met up, and they discussed Chelsea and Naomi's negative test results, then the difficulties that Vanessa's daughter Deanna was still having with Doug's death. Vanessa lamented that Deanna was continuing to take a hard line about not coming home to visit her; Nicole opined that the sight of the house where Deanna had lived with Doug might be too triggering. After Vanessa sighed that she had offered to sell their home, which both her kids had objected to, she moved the topic to the double date she hoped to set up with her, Joey, Nicole, and Carlton.

Vanessa then commented that perhaps Nicole would like to bring someone other than Carlton. Nicole acknowledged that Kial had been her date for WinterFest but labeled him “a fun distraction.” As for Carlton, Nicole agreed with Vanessa that he was smitten and loyal, but she feared that he wanted something more serious than she was ready for. Vanessa took the moment to hand Nicole a Heart Attach business card and suggest that there were plenty of no-strings options there for Nicole to choose from.

Nicole knew that Vanessa frequented the escort service, but was surprised she was functioning as a spokesperson for it...until Vanessa revealed that she was now managing it. Vanessa bragged that business had doubled since she'd taken over, but Nicole worried about her friend landing in legal trouble for her involvement. Nicole listened as Vanessa assured her that Heart Attach dealt in dates, not sex – and besides, she knew a customer who was a judge if the need arose.

Vanessa paid Joey a visit – he was hot from her selfies and the two almost made love, but mention that they'd each seen Leslie killed the mood. Mrs. McBride then took a call from Lance, the husband of one of her customers, Lolly, who was furious that Vanessa was setting his wife up with “man-whores.” Vanessa felt that this was an issue for Lance and Lolly to work out for themselves, but Lance threatened to cause problems for Vanessa if she didn't cut Lolly off. Joey saw how unsettled Vanessa was after she hung up and offered to handle Lance, but Vanessa stipulated that she was running Heart Attach, and therefore she would see to the matter herself.

At Garland Memorial, both Kial and Shanice were on tense phone calls, after which they briefly commiserated. Kial asked Shanice if she had seen Nicole that day, then decided he wanted some intel – on Carlton, with whom he was soon to have a consultation. Shanice was very interested to hear about the time Kial had spent with Nicole, but when Carlton arrived for his meeting with the orthopedic surgeon, Shanice muttered to herself that things were about to get awkward.

Later, Nicole entered, and Carlton “introduced” her to Kial, who immediately pointed out that Nicole had been his date for WinterFest. Carlton casually thanked Kial for being his “stand-in”; Kial smirked that it hadn't exactly been a hardship. An amused Nicole replied that it certainly hadn't been.

The Hamiltons, Hawthornes, and Richardsons all toasted Naomi and Chelsea at the country club, paying tribute to the sisters' negative test results. Hayley soon offered to take Bill home and make him “a nice big cup of tea” with her “secret ingredient,” but, to her dismay, Bill wanted to stick around “for the girls.” Then Bill approached Dani and promised to be there for her as she navigated carrying the BRCA gene mutation and the careful monitoring of her health.

Andre joined the party and made a show of fussing over Dani in front of Bill, who bristled as Hayley watched. Bill suddenly decided he needed to make a phone call, and Hayley abruptly grabbed her purse and followed him out. “Damn, was it my cologne?” Andre chuckled, with Dani voting to douse him in it if it prompted similar exits.

Jacob was busy recounting a case he was working on but quickly realized that neither Naomi nor Chelsea was listening. Chelsea fumbled that she had heard Jacob saying “many words,” then admitted that she was finding it hard to celebrate when Dani was still facing so many unknowns. At the same time, Chelsea was becoming bored at the family gathering – disenchanted that Dani and Hayley hadn't come to blows, Chelsea used the excuse of Madison's text to excuse herself.

Chelsea found Madison at the hospital, gushing that she felt “so alive” after learning she hadn't inherited the BRCA gene variant. Madison happily accompanied Chelsea to Uptown, but her reverie was short-lived when Chelsea encountered Malik, a former acquaintance of hers. Given Madison's curiosity, Malik grinned that he wasn't a model like Chelsea had been – they knew each other because Chelsea had been one of his best customers. Malik handed the women a “free sample” and moved on; Madison was horrified to learn that Chelsea was no stranger to party drugs. Chelsea pooh-poohed that the pills were “nothing dangerous” and called Madison out for still being in doctor mode when the neurologist listed the adverse effects such substances could have on the brain.

After Madison shared her observation that Chelsea was acting out because she had tested negative and therefore wanted to live life freely, Chelsea rebelliously took a pill and scoffed when Madison said that being spared the BRCA mutation was not a free pass to be reckless. “Later, baby,” Chelsea said flippantly when Madison chose not to join her on the dance floor.

Back at the country club, Leslie, still pissed off over Joey stealing her thunder, gulped down two drinks in succession. She saw a gloomy Hayley sitting with Bill, Dani, and Andre; when Hayley drew near to the bar, Leslie declared that Hayley was clearly having trouble keeping “bully” Bill interested. Leslie went over how Bill had first threatened to steal her baby, then tried to keep her from building her mansion – now Bill was interfering with her clinic. Hayley didn't want to hear any of it, but Leslie asserted that Bill was making Hayley's life miserable as well...so how about they team up to introduce some misery into Bill's life? Besides, Leslie concluded, whatever long game Hayley was playing, it definitely seemed to come with a ticking clock.

Hayley returned to Bill and asked him about trying again for a vacation home in St. Bart's, since the owners of the one they thought they'd bought had changed their minds. Bill said there was too much work for him to look into that, after which Hayley had a vision of Dani taunting her. “Kiss your $10 million payoff goodbye,” Fantasy Dani crowed. “He'll always choose me.” Afterwards, Hayley and Leslie locked eyes; Leslie toasted as if to acknowledge Hayley's unhappiness with Bill.

Meanwhile, Andre and Dani had gone home, where Andre proposed that Dani fly with him to New York, where they could take in the sights – and each other – in between his commissioned photo shoots. Dani wanted to, but declined because she wanted to be close to home in case Vernon needed her while dealing with Anita's cancer. Andre could barely hide his disappointment.

Naomi decided she wanted to ditch the family celebration for a private party with Jacob, which the detective was down for. The Hawthornes got to their place and didn't make it past their living room before making love, a point Jacob made afterwards. When Jacob challenged Naomi to a “Round 2,” Naomi whipped open her robe and flashed him, starting the amorousness anew.

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