Barnaby Joyce affair: Wife Natalie sought help from priest to save marriage

BARNABY Joyce’s estranged wife Natalie enlisted the help of prominent Catholic priest Father Frank Brennan to try to save their marriage.

Barnaby Joyce and his wife Natalie in a photoshoot near their home after celebrating his election success in 2013. Picture: Ray Strange

BARNABY Joyce’s estranged wife Natalie enlisted the help of prominent Catholic priest Father Frank Brennan to try to save their marriage.

At the time, the Deputy Prime Minister had been conducting an affair with his former staffer,
33-year-old Vikki Campion, for several months.

In September, Natalie Joyce met with Father Brennan, a family friend, to beg him to counsel her husband to return to his family.

Father Frank Brennan is understood to have counselled the couple during their marriage breakdown.

Soon afterwards she learned that Campion was then two months’ pregnant with 50-year-old Mr Joyce’s child, due in April.

Fr Brennan refused to comment yesterday but is understood to have counselled the couple during their marriage breakdown late last year.

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It is believed Mrs Joyce knew of the affair before she turned up in June as her husband’s date at Canberra’s Midwinter Ball.

Barnaby and Natalie Joyce appeared together at the Federal Parliament Midwinter Ball 2017 at Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: Ray Strange

The couple have been married for 24 years and have four daughters, aged 15 to 21, including an 18-year-old who sat the HSC at the height of family turmoil last year.

Mrs Joyce issued a statement this week saying she and her daughters were “devastated”.

Fr Brennan has a longstanding reputation of advocacy in areas of law, social justice, refugee protection, Aboriginal reconciliation and human rights, according to Wikipedia.