I’m so sorry that you’re here and that this has happened. My WH also engaged in a long-term affair. They are a special type of hell.
As was already asked, where did the information about her supposedly abusive husband come from? Remember that cheaters lie. She has lied to your WS and to you for 5 years.
Many BS have been told that the other betrayed spouse was potentially abusive to paint themselves as victims and justify their behavior. They’ve also done this to discourage disclosure.
Ask yourself, if she is so worried about violence from her spouse, wouldn’t engaging in an affair for 5 years seem too dangerous to risk? Her spouse could have found out at any moment over those 5 years. The fear of his supposed abuse doesn’t seem to have deterred her for a single second in that regard. And if your WS was truly convinced that the OBS was physically abusive, would he have really engaged in such risky behavior with her—putting her AND himself and his family at risk of physical violence? Why would your WS not have sought real help and protection for her if he was really convinced that she was in physical danger instead of playing her knight in shining armor and soothing her with sex?
At this point, you shouldn’t take anything that she says at face value and honestly, your WH has lied to you for years as well to protect himself and their affair, so you can’t really completely believe him at this point either.
The OBS has a right to know the truth of his life and his marriage. He is now the only person still kept in the dark by ALL of you. How would you feel if he had found the truth and decided that you didn’t have a right to know?
Most likely, your WH and the affair partner are protecting themselves by saying that he is abusive. Your WH risked everything: his company, his reputation, his marriage, his family. He did that to have an affair with this person and so did she. Please don’t waste your sympathy on her and tell yourself that SHE’S the one who’s losing the most. She had 5 years to consider changing course, and she never did. Neither did your WH.
It’s early days for you right now. Your head and heart are reeling, and you’re still hearing affair narrative from your WH. This is very typical, but you need to consider that much of it is likely half true or outright not true. Cheaters tell themselves many lies to excuse continuing with the affair for so long.
You don’t have to decide on this right now, but I highly recommend that you begin to take what your WS says—ALL of it—with much more skepticism and questioning. He has to come out of the fog of his own and their lies himself before he’ll begin to unravel the lies that supported their fantasy world for 5 years.
Give yourself time and space to really think and examine what he’s saying rather than letting him talk you into buying every word. Your WH isn’t a child who can’t resist all the horrible women who throw themselves at him. He’s a grown man who chose a dishonest and dishonorable course and maintained it at your expense for 5 years. He saw himself as her big, strong counselor and protector rather than the person who was actively harming her marriage and her spouse. That takes a lot of twisted thinking that he’ll need quite a lot of time to figure out.
I hope you’ll consider counseling for both of you individually. He especially needs to figure out how he got here and what about him makes him capable of behaving in such dishonest and sneaky ways.
Hugs of strength to you, 456tree456. This is a long road to walk to recovery, and you’re just beginning. You will get great support and advice here. Take what helps you and leave the rest.