Caught in the middle

It's great when you can be friends with a married couple. Sadly, there are events in life that really test your friendship. Divorces are awful. Trying to remain friends with both is challenging but can be done if never the twain shall meet. But what do you do when one of the parties seriously wrongs the other?

I found myself offering conciliatory words on Facebook to one half of a couple over their mention of going through a very rough time and having gotten drunk and doing wrong by someone they cared about. Naively, I figured they had tied one on and told off mom or something. Never did I believe it was an incident of domestic violence, serious violence. The other party wasn't saying a word - rightly so. So I found myself being drawn into trying to offer support and encouragement to the party of the first part p1p with ignorance of what was done to the party of the second part p2p. A friend is hurting, is doing a public mea culpa and is talking of trying to fix their self, stop drinking and get their shit together. You bet, I will encourage you and offer you support in your quest to make things right and prevent it from ever happening again.

Then I spoke to the wronged party - well, texted. I felt it only right, when it came out that p2p was the victim of p1p's transgression, that I inform p2p of my contact with p1p. After all, I feel a stronger allegiance to p2p, p2p was my friend first. P2p displayed amazing strength and understanding of my situation. P2p is such an amazing person that this person expressed gratitude that p1p had someone to talk to in this difficult time. This is a truly wonderful and evolved person. 

I'm left feeling very conflicted. 

I hope that by offering support and encouragement to p1p this person will get the help they dearly need, will straighten their life out, will give up alcohol for good and will find peace as their remorse seems genuine and deep. I also hope that if this is achieved it will make p2p feel safer and more at ease. 

However, I feel rather uneasy and like I'm being disloyal to p2p despite making every effort to maintain transparency to all parties.

I'm looking at this as a growth experience. Helping someone who I'd really like to hate right now, seeing someone with all of their flaws and still being a friend to them, hoping I'm helping both parties with my actions.

If anyone is taking the time to read my ramblings I'd appreciate your thoughts/advice. This is a tough situation for everyone.