I think an overall better explanation is given in this excellent piece by @s_r_constantin : https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/HuFZJkGptWDtRbkWs/she-wanted-it

People (with brains being prediction machines) would rather be proven right in their ideas/predictions about themselves / the world, than be happy

So people wtih negative models of love, others, and reality as a whole, often tend to repeatedly be attracted to abusers because at least they know how to handle those situations; uncertainty can be scarier; positivity can feel wildly unpredictable, thus unsafe, moment-to-moment.

Overall, my impression is that what this article describes is only true for people who haven't sufficiently healed from their trauma (which is not a judgment of those people ); once a person internalizes they are worth more than abuse, there's no way they'd remain attracted.