Natalie Joyce speaks for first time after Barnaby affair
THE estranged wife of Barnaby Joyce has described the heartbreaking moment that marked the end of her 24-year marriage.
NSW
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THE estranged wife of Barnaby Joyce says her husband stole the name she always wanted if they ever had a boy.
Breaking her silence Natalie Joyce described how the father of her four girls “tore her family apart” by accepting a hefty six-figure sum from Channel 7 to tell the world about his affair.
“I wasn’t surprised she sold their ‘exclusive’ story, and certainly not surprised the $150,000 went to her child (Sebastian), but it begs the question, if Barney agreed to be a part of it, how could he allow his four girls to be overlooked?” Mrs Joyce said in an unpaid interview for The Australian Women’s Weekly.
“In saying that, I wouldn’t want a cent of that money. It was all we could do to watch it without throwing a brick at the TV.”
Ms Joyce also revealed that she and Barnaby always planned to use the name “Sebastian” if they ever had a son, describing the act as “another malicious taunt in a very long line of appalling behaviour”.
Mrs Joyce and her four daughters — Bridgette, Julia, Caroline and Odette — watched the bizarre Sunday Night chat together.
She said it was extremely painful seeing her husband’s new partner, who is also his former media adviser, and their son Sebastian — and described the interview as “an absolute disgrace”.
“I’m normally a very private person but I knew I had to find my voice,” Mrs Joyce said. “They thought I would lie down, but this time I couldn’t. I’m doing this so the girls feel empowered, and know their mum stood up and defended our fine name.”
The full interview in today’s Women’s Weekly lifts the lid on the “worst two years” of Mrs Joyce’s life.
She describes the infamous moment she confronted Ms Campion about the affair, calling her a “home-wrecking wh***”.
“I was very measured. I didn’t raise my voice. She and Barney were smoking outside. He bolted when he saw me,’” she said,
“I turned to her and said, ‘My husband is out of bounds, off-limits, he’s a married man with four children’’, and then I called her a home-wrecking wh***. It was not one of my finer moments but, looking back, I’m proud I stood up to her’.”
Ms Joyce also detailed how her marriage of 24 years ended at the departure gate at Sydney Airport on the domestic connection last July.
She said Ms Campion gave “permission” for her to accompany her husband on an official trip to the UK, Belgium, Italy and the Netherlands to “give it one last shot”.
While Mr Joyce agreed to having no contact with Ms Campion for that two week trip, she sometimes called 20 times a day.
On the return journey, Mr Joyce left his wife to catch a connecting flight to Canberra to be with Ms Campion.
“I was so stupid to think we had a chance,” Ms Joyce said.
She kept silent for months while her husband, the former deputy prime minister, publicly defended his affair with Ms Campion, saying they were in love.
But as her unfaithful husband flaunted his much younger girlfriend, Mrs Joyce simply released a short statement saying she was “deceived and hurt” and asked for privacy.
During his highly publicised and much-criticised interview with Ms Campion, Mr Joyce described some of his Coalition colleagues as “the absolute scum of the earth people” and suggested his colleagues had warned him people were “coming after” the couple when they refused to abort their love child.
He also said he was “living a lie” by appearing in public with his wife of 24 years while in a relationship with Ms Campion.
The interview did not pay off for Seven’s flagship news and current affairs program, Sunday night, with an audience of only 631,000.
The couple were accused of “hypocrisy” by colleagues after the show aired because Ms Campion had filed a privacy complaint against The Daily Telegraph to the Press Council before the program aired. The complaint was later withdrawn.