Barnaby Joyce and Vikki Campion’s wedding: Politician’s daughter Odette Joyce slams her father and issues scathing message about ‘tacky’ and ‘poor taste’ decision
Barnaby Joyce’s youngest daughter has confirmed that none of his four girls attended his bush bash wedding to his former political adviser Vikki Campion, as she reveals her father didn’t even tell her about the ceremony.
The ex-nationalist leader, 56, and Vikki Campion, 38, exchanged vows on Sunday afternoon at his family’s sprawling farm at Woolbrook, west of Walcha, in the NSW Northern Tablelands.
Their young sons Thomas and Sebastian, aged four and five, wore Akubra hats, tan chinos and cowboy boots for their roles as ring bearers, and could be seen enjoying the reception with their parents and about 80 guests.
But noticeably absent from the family photos were Odette, 20, Caroline, 23, Julia, 24, Bridgette, 26 — the adult daughters Joyce shares with his ex-wife, Natalie Abberfield.
On Saturday night, just hours before the wedding, Odette took to Instagram to share a photo from a friend’s birthday party in the Sydney suburb of Manly, about five hours south of the venue.
On Monday, she confirmed to Ny Breaking Australia that she had not been invited to attend the celebration.
She said: ‘Personally I wasn’t invited to the wedding, my father wasn’t even told about it, so I found out through other sources.’
Barnaby Joyce married his former political advisor Vikki Campion on Sunday (photo)
Odette Joyce (pictured) said she was not invited to her father’s wedding to Vikki Campion on Sunday
Odette Joyce posted to Instagram on Saturday a photo from a friend’s birthday in the Sydney suburb of Manly
“I would also rather celebrate my boyfriend’s birthday than attend or even think about a wedding that I don’t care about or support.
“If my father doesn’t want to think about me or even take me into account in the decisions he makes that ultimately affect me, then I honestly don’t have the time to think about him.”
Odette also slammed her father for allowing a media photographer to photograph the happy couple’s wedding.
She called it a “grand attempt by them to stay relevant when everyone is over it.”
“I also think involving the media and having them at the wedding is not only in bad taste, but in bad taste,” she said.
Joyce’s relationship with Ms Campion sent shockwaves through Australia’s political scene when their affair came to light in February 2018 – two months before she gave birth to their son Sebastian.
Mrs Abberfield, to whom he was married for 24 years, would 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’.
Barnaby Joyce’s other family, pictured from left to right: daughters Odette, Bridgette, Caroline and Julia. His ex-wife Natalie is pictured in the center
Barnaby Joyce is pictured with his ex-wife Natalie at the 2017 Federal Parliament Midwinter Ball
Vikki Campion and Barnaby Joyce are pictured with their sons Sebastian and Thomas
Last month, Julia Joyce posted an Instagram video of herself wearing a wedding dress while her mother appeared to be wearing a veil.
The video was captioned: “Preparing to crash my dad’s wedding that I wasn’t invited to… in my mom’s wedding dress.”
Once their relationship came to light, Joyce resigned as deputy prime minister and leader of the Nationals.
Then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull blasted Joyce for what he called a “shocking error of judgement.”
It led to Turnbull introducing a so-called ‘bonking ban’ for Coalition MPs to prevent them having sex with their ministerial staff.
Ms Campion, an opinion columnist, has spoken candidly about their affair.
She previously admitted their relationship was ‘not perfect’ but insisted she has no regrets about the drama surrounding their infidelity.
‘Even until the day he said in parliament that I was his partner, I didn’t believe that was right. He said he would be there in the labor and delivery unit and I didn’t believe that either,” she previously said.
Vikki Campion was seen holding a cigarette at her own wedding reception on Sunday
Vikki Campion is pictured on Sunday with a glass of champagne and a cigarette in one hand, while her other arm is a wedding guest
Ms Campion married the former Nationals MP on Sunday. She wore a cream-colored, strapless dress with a gold motif in her hair
“You trade your job for hard looks, paparazzi and paranoia, schoolyard rumors that emerge in the Ultimo newsrooms, many of them without a grain of truth, and you don’t answer the door anymore,” she continued.
‘He asked me a thousand times: ‘Would you like to experience it all again?’ And my answer has always been yes.”
He proposed in January 2022 with a parti sapphire ring, a stone popular in his northern NSW electorate of New England.
“Instead of getting down on one knee (to propose), I ended up getting down on two.” “I was saying my prayers,” he said.
When the couple announced their engagement, Mr Joyce said his family’s reaction was as “one expected” and that not everyone was pleased.
“Some are happy and some are understandably not so happy,” Joyce said at the time.
The wedding was supposed to be a low-key barbecue for a dozen guests, turning into a party for more than 80 of their closest friends, with a dance floor in front of a barn on the property.
Barnaby Joyce and Vikki Campion walk into their wedding reception on Sunday
Ms Campion was pictured hugging a guest at her own wedding reception on Sunday afternoon
Vikki Campion speaks to a guest during her wedding reception on Sunday
Joyce himself jumped out of a Toyota Landcruiser on the grounds ahead of the ceremony, before guests – including former National MP George Christensen – arrived in a four-wheel drive convoy.
Hours later, the newlyweds beamed as they walked together hand in hand to greet their guests – wearing his and hers Akubra hats.
A new gold wedding ring could be seen on Joyce’s hand.
Mrs Campion wore a strapless cream dress with gold earrings and black heeled cowboy boots as she walked next to her new husband after the ceremony with a glass of champagne, smiling broadly at her guests.
She barely let go of Joyce’s hand as she greeted guests at the reception.
The groom opted for tan trousers with a brown belt and shoes, paired with a white shirt, navy blazer and tie. On his lapel was a pink and green boutonniere.
Vehicles were parked around a white aisle separating the rows of white seats. One portable toilet was visible on the 4WD trailer.