Beyond the Gates: Vernons "Love at first Sight" story about meeting and wooing Anita Dupree

On Beyond the Gates, Vernon says he’d walk through hell itself for his queen, and we all love how devoted he is to his wife. Vernon talks about the march that made them.

Vernon (Clifton Davis) and Anita Dupree (Tamara Tunie), the strong father and mother figure leading the Dupree family, are deeply in love and have both said that marching together brought them closer together. On the episode that aired on Tuesday, March 18th, 2025, we learned a little more of that story.

My Girl, and the Temptations of Anita Dupree on Beyond the Gates

When discussing Kat (Colby Muhammad) and her relationship with Tomás (Alex Alegria) with her parents and Nicole (Daphnée Duplaix), Kat wondered whether Vernon had undergone such scrutiny by Anita's mom and dad when they were courting (old-time word for an old-time era). Anita smiled and said that Vernon sure had and that if their father had not passed all of her parent's many tests, “Y’all wouldn't be here.” An old Mo-Town song was playing, and in that instant, memories came flooding back to Vernon. Back then, Anita was in a group called the Articulettes, and the record company they were signed with had sent them to Washington, DC., to perform. But for Anita, it was more important to be there to march in the civil rights movement. And to be on the right side of history.

We Heard It Through The Grapevine

Anita had wanted to march but hadn't anticipated that there, in Washington, D.C., she would meet her soulmate. Vernon told of marching with Anita and that she was both beautiful and funny and that twinkle in her eye, that certain je nais se quois as the French say. With a twinkle in her eye, suggesting that “She knew mysterious things.” Vernon was smitten. Later, Vernon had gotten himself into a concert by the Articulettes, something he described as being nigh on impossible once they became famous, to which Anita scoffed and said that Vernon had had her heart simply at “Hello.” Vernon told them all that, yes, indeed, their love had been at first sight. Not only did Kat and Nicole swoon, but we all did at home.

Among all the goings-on and drama in Fairmont Crest, Beyond the Gates had a love story for the ages, their very own Jerry Maguire moment: “ You had me at hello.” It was a sweet moment that grounded the characters in something real and beautiful: love.

Watch full episodes of Beyond the Gates weekdays on CBS or stream on Paramount Plus.