‘My fiancee left me for Barnaby’
FALLOUT FROM THE DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER’S BITTER MARRIAGE SPLIT CONTINUES
It’s the love scandal that has been dogging the deputy prime minister for days.
Just two months after announcing he had separated from his wife Natalie, mother of his four daughters, Barnaby Joyce, 50, confirmed he is set to become a dad again – with his new lover Vikki Campion, 33.
The pair’s unborn baby – which is believed to be a boy – is due in April.
In a twist to the saga, it emerged that prior to starting a relationship with Barnaby, Vikki was engaged to be married to another man – journalist turned digital consultant John Bergin.
The pair were due to wed on November 5, 2016, at a venue in Bowral, NSW.
However, three months before the big day, the couple split – with John Bergin telling News Corp ‘we haven’t spoken to each other since’.
It was on December 7 last year that Barnaby, the Nationals leader, used the parliamentary debate on same-sex marriage to confirm he was separated from his wife.
‘I deeply regret the failure of my 24-year marriage, the tremendous hurt caused to Natalie and our four daughters, and the unwanted public intrusion into what is an intensely private matter for all of us,’ Barnaby said last week.
‘My marriage was under pressure for some time. Natalie and I tried to make it work again in April last year, but it subsequently came to an end. I take responsibility for that failure.’
Barnaby’s wife of 24 years
has spoken candidly of her ‘devastation’ over the failure of the couple’s marriage – claiming her husband had an ‘affair’ with Vikki Campion – who is a former staff member of his.
‘I am deeply saddened by the news that my husband has been having an affair and is now having a child with a former staff member,’ Natalie Joyce said earlier.
‘I understand that this affair has been going on for many months and started when she was a paid employee.
‘Our family life has had to be shared during Barnaby’s political career and it was with trust that we let campaign and office staff into our homes and into our lives.
‘Naturally we also feel deceived and hurt by the actions of Barnaby and the staff member involved,’ she added. Barnaby and Vikki – a former journalist – first grew close in 2016 when she was working on the federal election campaign. She became a member of Barnaby’s staff in August that year. ‘A friendship subsequently developed and that became, over time, more,’ Barnaby admitted. However, he denied that he and Vikki were in a relationship while she worked in his office. In April last year, Vikki took on a role working for a senior colleague of Barnaby’s, Matt Canavan. The appointment – which reportedly came with a salary of around $190,000 a year – has led to questions over whether it breached the ministerial code of conduct. The code makes it clear that partners cannot be employed by any other minister without approval from the prime minister. ‘[Vikki] was well qualified for the role, was an existing and obviously capable staff member and the change was within the existing Nationals staff arrangement,’ Barnaby said.
‘I did not discuss these matters with the prime minister or his office as Vikki was not my partner, so they were dealt with in the usual course of staff deployments within the party.’
In August last year, Vikki moved into a specially created role as social media adviser for National Party politician Damian Drum.
‘It is without a shadow of a doubt that Vikki Campion is my partner now. But when she worked in my office, she was not my partner,’ Barnaby insisted.
‘When she worked in Matt Canavan’s office she was not my partner. And Damian Drum was not a minister.’
With the fallout still rumbling on at the time New Idea went to print – with Barnaby facing increasing pressure to quit – supporters say Vikki’s ex is ‘the only classy person in this whole sordid affair’.
When asked if he believed his relationship breakdown had anything to do with the deputy PM, ex-fiance John – who’s been described as ‘polite, kind and dignified’ – said: ‘I’m just a spectator in this, like everybody else.’ He denied claims that his break-up with Vikki had left him ‘suicidal’.
‘The break-up was amicable. I’ve moved on,’ he added.