After meeting as students in Belfast, Michaela and John married in on 30 December 2010.
However, tragedy would strike just 12 days later when she visited the couple’s room in a luxury resort in Mauritius on her own after lunch, and she was discovered by John who raised the alarm.
In the aftermath, John, now 41, said there was shock, but there was also “anger” at how the authorities dealt with her death, and the lack of convictions that followed.
“I’ve never asked the question of, ‘why did this happen to me?’, I’ve always just felt so sorry for Michaela,” he said.
“It’s only now that I’m able to talk about it quite logically. There’s still a hell of a lot of pain associated with it, but I accept that it’s always going to be the case.
“I know how intense it is to live with that pain, so I’ve been able to find a way to manage it.”
McAreavey, who featured for Down’s senior football panel and won an All-Ireland Intermediate title with his club Tullylish in 2010, admits that “moving on is a term that has never been comfortable for me”.
“I’ve said before about moving forward, and that just changes the reference around it.
“You’ll never move on from something like that, you can’t just let that be. You have to find a way to move forward.
“I’m still heavily involved for trying to find justice for Michaela so it’s still a very active part of my life.”