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Barnaby Joyce and Vikki Campion plead for their unborn son in first joint interview.

It’s been just two weeks since the world learned Barnaby Joyce is expecting a baby with a former member of his staff, 33-year-old Vikki Campion, in April.

In that (short) time, we’ve heard from the estranged wife of the Deputy PM, Natalie, who had been married to Joyce for 24 years before their split last year. She described the revelation that her husband had been having an affair, and was now expecting his fifth child, as “devastating”.

“This situation is devastating on many fronts,” she said, in a statement published by The Australian.

“For my girls who are affected by the family breakdown and for me as a wife of 24 years, who placed my own career on hold to support Barnaby through his political life.”

Barnaby Joyce's wife Natalie Joyce confronted Vikki Campion
Barnaby Joyce with his wife of 24 years, Natalie Joyce. Image via Getty.

We've heard from Campion's father, we've seen Malcolm Turnbull impose a ban on ministers sleeping with their staff (a ban that was quickly dubbed #BonkBan on Twitter), and we've even watched US TV host John Oliver brand Joyce a "hypocrite".

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Now, for the first time, despite Joyce appearing on ABC's 7.30 program the day his affair and Campion's pregnancy was revealed, the new couple has given their first joint interview since news of their relationship broke.

LISTEN: Jessie and Mia discuss all things Barnaby Joyce. Post continues after audio.

In an exclusive interview with Fairfax Media from the home in Armidale where they are currently seeking refuge from the press, the pair urged the public - and their fellow politicians - to "move on".

He said the public's interest in his personal life had quickly turned from "inquiry to malice" and said the scrutiny has meant he and Campion's baby was destined to grow up as "some sort of public display". The couple also confirmed that Campion had missed doctor's appointments for fear of being hounded by photographers and television crews when leaving the house.

"The one thing that has deeply annoyed me is that there is somehow an inference that this child is somehow less worthy than other children, and it’s almost spoken about in the third person," Joyce told Fairfax Media.

"I love my daughters. I have four beautiful daughters and I love them to death. And now I will have a son. I don't pick winners, I'm not gonna love one more than another, but I'm not going to love one less than another either."

Barnaby Joyce and Vikki Campion. Image via social.
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After confirming they were expecting a baby boy, Campion - who allowed just one comment to go on the record as part of the interview - noted she and Joyce would be honouring her two brothers with their son's middle name.

 

The Deputy PM - currently on personal leave - said he didn't want sympathy from the Australian public, but is urging them instead to "look clinically at the facts" of his relationship with Campion.

"Come to the conclusion he is not getting a gold star for his personal life, but he has made a commitment, he is with her, they're having a child, and in a 2018 world there is nothing terribly much to see there," he said.

"This should be a very simple story - a bloke whose marriage broke down is in a relationship with another person and they are having a child."

You can read the full interview in Fairfax Media.