Monique From 'Love After Lockup' Talks Her Trust Issues and Derek's Past Infidelity (EXCLUSIVE)

After spending days, months, and even years behind bars, the recently released inmates of Love After Lockup finally have their freedom. However, in many cases, many of them learn that life on the outside is just as chaotic.

This is especially true for Monique and Derek, who took center stage on the WE tv series after they joined the show in Season 4. Although the couple was on cloud nine before Derek got out of prison, it wasn’t long before viewers saw signs of trouble in paradise.

In addition to the ongoing feud between Monique and Derek’s sisters, Monique and Derek also encountered trust issues in their relationship. The Love After Lockup couple got candid about Derek’s history of infidelity in an exclusive interview with Distractify.

Although Monique and Derek have had their problems in the past, the couple said that they’re only focused on the future these days. Monique addressed her man’s critics, noting that viewers only see “the man Derek was when he first got out of prison,” versus who he is today.

“They were just saying like, I'm still with this man that cheated on me and made all these mistakes," Monique told us. “This was literally the first couple of weeks he got out of prison. Like, that's not the same man that I'm dealing with now.”

Since the cameras stopped rolling, the couple said that they’ve gotten a chance to “learn each other,” and rebuild trust. But according to Monique, moving forward meant “a lot of forgiveness” on her part. “It took a lot of growth on both ends for us to fully understand each other and get to the place that we're at right now,” the Love After Lockup star shared.

Derek said he doesn’t blame Monique for her trust issues and takes “full responsibility” for the hurt he caused her in the past. “I knew what I where I went wrong,” Derek admitted. “Now that I'm doing better and treating her better and being faithful, we don't have to worry about that no more.”

Just days after Derek got out of prison, he reconnected with an old friend … a friend that he also happens to have sex with from time to time.

Although Monique and Derek saw a rift in their relationship after Monique discovered Derek’s texts to this other woman, they try to work things out in “Fresh Out Glow”. But, before they can make amends, Derek has a sit down with Monique’s sisters.

In an exclusive Love After Lockup clip obtained by Distractify, they press him for the truth. Understandably, their questions make Derek defensive. “She probably told y’all her side of the story, now y’all wanna hear my side of the story,” he says in the clip.

He goes on to assert that he’s not the only one that’s been misbehaving in their relationship. “We was going through it with my sisters and y'all all arguing and then she started disrespecting me [and] I started disrespecting her,” he told Monique’s sisters.

Monique admitted that she had called Derek a “b---h" on more than one occasion. “But I wasn’t cheating,” she added.

Derek then shared that he had previously told Monique that he was talking to someone else … he just didn’t tell her that someone was another woman.

“She's doing bulls--t too, she lying,” Derek went on.

Find out how the rest of Derek and Monique’s love story unfolds on Love After Lockup Fridays at 9 p.m. EST on WE tv.