Barnaby Joyce’s ex-wife has shared a surprise message after the former Nationals leader married his former political adviser in a ‘bush bash’ wedding this weekend.
Mr Joyce, 56, and Vikki Campion, 38, exchanged vows on Sunday afternoon at the family farm at Woolbrook, west of Walcha in the NSW Northern Tablelands.
Natalie Abberfield, who was married to Mr Joyce for 24 years before the couple split in 2018, shared her best wishes for the couple on Monday.
“All I want to say is I would just like to wish the happy couple all the best,” she said. news.com.au.
Ms Abberfield revealed she had “moved on” and was in a good place in life – enjoying her love of bodybuilding and working as a supervisor at a daycare.
Natalie Abberfield (left) said she had ‘moved on’ after her high-profile split from former National leader Barnaby Joyce (right)
Ms Abberfield took up bodybuilding after her shock split from Barnaby Joyce in 2018
She remains close to her four daughters, none of whom attended Mr Joyce and Ms Campion’s wedding this weekend.
“I just look after myself and no one else, I suppose,” Ms Abberfield said.
“That’s probably it.” Yeah. I have a very good group of friends. My family is awesome. The girls are awesome. Yeah. I have evolved now. Totally moved on.
“I guess that was a chapter in my book and now I’m on a few new chapters in my book.”
Earlier this year, Ms Abberfield spoke about her surprise entry into the world of bodybuilding following her bitter split from Mr Joyce.
She said pumping iron was a major factor in her recovery from her ex-husband’s devastating blind side and that it helped her “rediscover” herself.
“I always wanted to enter a bodybuilding competition, but there was just never a right time,” she told SBS in April.
“When you’re a mother of a young family, your priorities change and the things you once wanted often stay on the back burner.
“My marriage was over and I was consumed by this overwhelming feeling of grief and the burning question: ‘Well, what now?’ I’m not needed anymore.”
Ms Abberfield said bodybuilding became “my escape and my way of refocusing on my life”.
“I guess it gave me a purpose to get up in the morning,” she said.
Mr Joyce and Vikki Campion were married on Sunday at the family’s sprawling Woolbrook farm in New South Wales.
Mr Joyce’s youngest daughter, Odette, said none of her four daughters had been invited to Sunday’s wedding.
Mr Joyce and Mrs Campion and their friends at the wedding celebrations on Sunday
The news comes as Barnaby Joyce’s youngest daughter Odette confirmed none of her four daughters attended her wedding and her father didn’t even tell her about the ceremony.
On Saturday evening, just hours before the wedding, Odette took to Instagram to share a photo from a friend’s birthday celebration in the Sydney suburb of Manly, about five hours south of the venue.
On Monday, she confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that she had not been invited to attend the celebration.
She said: “Personally I wasn’t invited to the wedding, my dad didn’t even tell me about it, I found out through other sources.”
“I would also rather celebrate my friend’s birthday than attend or even think about a wedding that doesn’t interest or support me.
“If my father doesn’t want to think about me or even include me in the decisions he makes that ultimately affect me, then frankly, I don’t have time to think about him.”
Odette also criticized her father for allowing a media photographer to photograph the happy couple’s nuptials.
She called it “a great attempt on their part to stay relevant when everyone else is done with it.”
Odette Joyce shared a photo in 2018 of herself, her mother and sisters with the caption: “The real Joyce family #whosbarnaby.” Pictured from left to right: daughters Odette, Bridgette, Caroline and Julia. His ex-wife Natalie is pictured, center
Odette Joyce said she “would rather celebrate my friend’s birthday than attend or even think about a wedding that doesn’t interest or support me.”
Joyce’s relationship with Ms Campion sent shockwaves through Australia’s political scene when their affair was revealed in February 2018 – two months before she gave birth to their son, Sebastian.
Once their relationship became public, Joyce resigned as deputy prime minister and national leader.
Mrs Abberfield is believed to have been blinded by her husband’s secret relationship.
At the time, Odette posted a photo of her mother and siblings on Instagram with the caption: “The real Joyce family #whosbarnaby.”
Mr Joyce and Ms Campion’s young sons Thomas and Sebastian, aged four and five, donned Akubra hats, beige chinos and cowboy boots for their role as ring bearers on Sunday.
The boys could be seen enjoying the reception with their parents and around 80 guests.
Mr Joyce proposed with a party sapphire ring, a popular stone in his northern New England electorate, in New England, in January 2022.
“Rather than being on my knees (to propose), I ended up getting down on my knees. I was saying my prayers,” he said at the time.
When the couple announced their engagement, Mr Joyce said his family’s reaction was what one would expect and not everyone was happy.
“Some are happy and some, of course, are not so happy,” Mr. Joyce said.
