Skip to content 
Beyond the Gates Nicole Dupree Richardson (Daphnee Duplaix) is already losing it, and Dana ‘Leslie’ Thomas (Trisa Mann-Grant) will soon spread the word about Ted Richardson’s (Keith D. Robinson) relationship with Shanice Johnson (Ernestine Johnson). Normally, Nicole and Leslie have nothing in common, but this time they really do. Both of them are going to be hit hard by Ted’s big news.
We’re going to talk about Nicole’s meltdown that we’re already seeing, as well as what happens with Leslie and comments from others in Ted’s circle of friends and family. Some good, some bad.
Beyond the Gates: How Ted’s Daughters Respond
So, before we talk about their moms, Leslie and Nicole, let’s talk about how Ted’s daughters, Kat Richardson (Colby Muhammad) and Eva Thomas Richardson (Ambyr Michelle) react. Although these two do not like each other, both of Ted’s daughters will be excited for Ted because they like Shanice and have supported their relationship.
Of course, we know that Eva never thought Leslie had a chance to win Ted back. And of course, Leslie’s continued flirting and coming to Ted is really bothering Eva. She is always worried that Leslie’s bad influence could have a bad effect on her and on the relationship between father and daughter Ted that Eva has fought so hard for. And of course, once Ted tells Eva that he and Shanice are engaged, Eva is already expecting to have to deal with crazy mom drama from Leslie.
Leslie is out on BTG
Meanwhile, this week, Kat is very uncertain about the engagement news because she knows it will hurt Leslie, leading to a scene from the promo at Upper town. Kat tells Eva, “Now Leslie knows it’s game over for good.” Of course, Kat is excited to see a ring on Shanice’s finger, because that means Leslie is officially unlucky with Ted. And Eva calls Kat a cold-hearted B, and she tells Eva that she’s proud to be a B if it’s about protecting her family. So, despite Kat and Eva both approving their father Ted’s engagement, this news will not bring Kat and Eva closer.
Beyond the Gates: Nicole is crushed
But also, Kat may be surprised to learn that Leslie isn’t the only ex of Ted who is very upset about the engagement, as Nicole is crushed about Ted putting a ring on it. So, now let’s talk about Nicole’s response. We saw Beyond the Gates parallel to Ted taking a big step forward with Shanice. Meanwhile, Nicole was taking a small step forward with Dr. Kial Rollins (Greg Vaughan). But while Ted was giving a ring to Shanice, we saw Nicole giving a house key to the door and her heart to Kial.
But it wasn’t long ago that Ted was trying to win Nicole back. She was just telling Dani Dupree (Karla Mosley) that just a year ago Ted was trying to convince Nicole to call off the divorce. And now Ted is set to marry another woman before the end of the year. Therefore, Nicole thinks that Ted is moving very fast. While Nicole is taking baby steps with Kial, we’ve taken Ted a long way with Shanice.
Nicole hides her feelings on BTG
So, a while ago, I don’t know if you remember this, Nicole was going to tell Ted that sometimes when she’s in bed with Carlton Fitzgerald (Robert Christopher Riley), she’s very interested in Ted. At the time, it was clear that Nicole’s subconscious was kind of rethinking things between her and Ted. But before Nicole could make that nasty confession, Shanice walked in and stopped, and Ted ran over to embrace his new girlfriend. So Nicole saw how close Ted and Shanice were, so she let him go. But now Nicole may be regretting that she didn’t take that chance when she spoke months ago.
So, when Ted and Shanice returned from New York, Ashley Morgan (Jen Jacob) freaked out when she saw Shanice flashing that big engagement ring. Almost immediately, Nicole was there and saw him. And then she excused herself to run alone to her office, where she called Dani and then broke down in tears. So, Nicole told Dani that yes, she wants Ted to be happy, but Nicole just can’t figure out why Ted’s news hurts her like this. Nicole also told Dani that she is happy with Kial.
This week’s spoilers say that Nicole makes a face about it with Ted. So Nicole might tell Ted that she thinks he’s moving on too fast. Nicole might compare it to Ted moving on with Leslie when they were married. We could see Nicole realizing that with Ted about to marry Shanice, she might want another chance with her ex Ted, since Nicole never wanted her marriage to Ted to even end. It was Leslie’s rescue that broke them.
Beyond the Gates: Leslie is losing it
And now let’s talk about Eva’s crazy mom, because you know Leslie is going to lose her entire mind when she finds out that Ted put a ring on Shanice’s finger. Leslie already hates Shanice. She is so jealous of her. Leslie always obeys Shanice. She likes to call him “nurse”. And in Leslie’s developed brain, she really thought that, in the long run, Ted was going to realize that he still loves Leslie, that he can’t live without her, and that he would come running back.
But Ted hasn’t wanted Leslie for decades. But it didn’t help that Ted got drunk last year and hit Leslie, because that gave her false hope. And we saw Eva telling Leslie over and over again, “Just stop it. Face the reality of the situation.” Eva told Leslie, “Don’t lose Marcel Malone (Darryl W. Handy) because you’re hoping for something with Ted that never happens.” But Leslie is about to lose it because Shanice got what Ted never gave Leslie, a ring and an engagement.
So, I expect Eva’s mom to get even crazier. Leslie will probably work overtime to find ways to make Shanice’s life miserable. She could try to ruin the wedding. And if Leslie is really acting, she can explode at Marcel and mess things up with him. I’m sure Eva is going to try to talk Leslie down, but she will be devastated and, of course, she will act.
The Richardsons and Duprees fit BTG
Appropriately, let’s talk about other ideas. We’ve already seen how Andre Richardson (Sean Freeman) reacted, and it looks like Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) was told off-screen and gave the thumbs up. Ted’s son Martin is busy with his venture. Plus, Bradley ‘Smitty’ Smith (Mike Manning) was arrested this week, so that’s a problem. Martin gave Ted his blessing to ask Andre to be his best man. Then Ted told Andre his big news and asked him to stand for him at his wedding. Andre was very proud to say yes to Ted. And we know that Martin and Andre are very fond of Shanice. We have seen that Ted was very lucky with his family, because they all like Shanice.
We are also going to get ideas from the Duprees. I’m sure Vernon Dupree (Clifton Davis) and Anita Dupree (Tamara Tunie) are probably worried about Nicole’s reactions to the engagement. Kat might be, too. But they also like Shanice and agree that she is 1,000% better than if Ted ended up with Leslie. But Anita might realize that Nicole is making it difficult. I guess Kial is going to take care of him, too. I’m sure he’ll congratulate Ted as a gentleman, though.
Anita is worried about BTG
And Anita can sit Dani and Nicole down and quiz them about their exes. Due to newly single Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett), Anita is already worried that Bill might pursue Dani and leave Andre for him. So, Anita may also be worried that Nicole might self-sabotage things with Kial, judging by how hard Nicole is taking the news of Shanice and Ted’s relationship.
We’ll see if Nicole tells her, or maybe Dani spills to Anita about Nicole crying on her shoulder. We will see. Maybe Nicole would prefer that Dani keep that to herself, but maybe not. Anita doesn’t like that both Dani and Nicole were cheated on in their marriages. So, I suspect that Anita could keep a close eye on her two daughters after the Bill. And now Ted is taking this big step forward with Shanice, and that has rocked Nicole’s world. In addition, Leslie may make life more difficult for the Duprees when she inevitably finds out about Ted’s affair.
