Things have never been better for Beyoncé and JAY-Z. The couple just expanded their family by two, and the rapper’s new album, 4:44, made headlines all over the world! But the power duo survived one hell of a rough patch to get to this point.

An insider tells Life & Style exclusively that the father-of-three would often leave his wife at home to go clubbing. “JAY had felt that if he hid his secrets, it almost meant he’d done nothing wrong. But Beyoncé knew all along. It became a shadow over their relationship.”

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Once the pair decided that divorce wasn’t an option, the 47-year-old changed his ways in an effort to salvage the marriage. And it worked! “This forgiveness thing wasn’t a cakewalk by any means,” the insider shares. “JAY had a lot of work to do, including counseling and family therapy.”

He has since admitted that crawling out of this dark period proved to be tougher than his Brooklyn childhood. “I’m from Marcy projects. I’ve been shot at. But nothing is harder than this. By far,” he said in a recent video that accompanied his recently released music.

Now, JAY has his hands full with newborn twins! Beyoncé introduced daughter Rumi and son Sir to the world in an Instagram post on July 14. And a source claimed big sister Blue Ivy, 5, is doting on her siblings. “Blue is in heaven!” the insider told Hollywood Life. “She is loving being a big sister, and although the twins are still a little too small for her to have much hands-on contact with them, she loves watching them, kissing them, and talking to them.”

For more info on Bey and JAY’s relationship ups and downs, pick up the latest issue of Life & Style, on newsstands now!