Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has proposed to his former staffer Vikki Campion, four years after their high-profile affair became public. The proposal took place on Sunday night at the Latitude 30 restaurant in Coffs Harbour, where Campion accepted with a Parti Sapphire ring.
Joyce told Guardian Australia that the couple are “very happy”, adding that if Campion had said no, “I would still be at Latitude 30 getting smashed”. He had originally hoped to propose in Noosa, “but everywhere was booked out”.
The pair’s relationship began while Joyce was still married to his wife Natalie, and was thrust into the spotlight in early 2018 when the Daily Telegraph published a photograph of a heavily pregnant Campion. Their son Sebastian was born in April that year, followed by a second son, Thomas, in 2019.
Then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull criticised Joyce for a “shocking error of judgment”, and Joyce later resigned as a minister after a sexual harassment allegation, which he described as “spurious and defamatory”. A National party investigation concluded with no determination due to insufficient evidence.
Joyce returned as party leader and deputy prime minister in mid-2021 after a successful challenge to Michael McCormack, claiming he was a “better person” who had learned from his mistakes. He also criticised media treatment of Campion, saying: “I’m the public figure, go after me.”
