On Sunday night the nation watched on with great interest as former deputy prime minister of Australia Barnaby Joyce and his former staffer Vikki Campion, sat for their first TV interview together to address their illicit affair.
Channel 7 won the bidding war to interview Barnaby and Vikki on Sunday Night, for which the couple reportedly pocketed $150,000. And according to viewers the TV station were ripped off. Comments have flooded social media platforms claiming the interview was “awkward”, that Barnaby and Vikki did not appear in love despite interviewing journalist Alex Cullen’s observations, and some even felt there was “a weird father-daughter vibe” between the two.
Viewers were not convinced Barnaby and Vikki are in a happy, loving relationship.
Because Barnaby, 50, and Vikki, 33, didn’t reveal much about their relationship, (What’s in their future? Is marriage on the cards? Do you actually like each other?) Now to Love turned to leadership influencer and body language expert Louise Mahler to get her insight on the relationship, and interview, Australia can’t stop talking about.
Is this the look of a couple in love?
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Vikki and Barnaby adore Sebastian but not each other
The television interview begins with homely scenes of Vikki and Barnaby bathing their newborn son, Sebastian. The couple coo and dote over the beautiful bub, while the audience gets their first glimpse into this new family life.
“Barnaby’s and Vikki’s eyes are on baby Sebastian and absolutely no eye contact with each other,” observes Mahler. “Clearly this is an adored baby from two people who do not connect.”
Barnaby’s attempts at affection tell a different story
Former journalist Vikki admits to the camera she’s nervous. She continues to explain that she never thought she would do a tell-all interview. When Vikki becomes tearful talking about her baby son, Barnaby slaps her on the side of the arm and says, “She’s right mate, don’t worry about it, she’s right.”
This telling interaction was not lost on Mahler.
“Barnaby slapped her with so much force and then drags his hand away with no affection whatsoever,” notes Mahler of the scene.
Vikki shows signs of enormous distress
Possibly the most raw moment of the interview was when Vikki revealed she considered aborting the child in the early stages of her pregnancy, a concept she clearly battles to talk about now that she is a mother. As she stutters and struggles to tell her story, Barnaby reaches around her grabbing the side of her arm and pulling her into him with a squeeze.
“Vikki’s stuttering is a sign of enormous distress,” says Mahler. “Barnaby cuddles her, but she pulls away from him, constantly keeping her own space.”
Vikki’s body language shows contempt
Viewers watching from their couches likened Barnaby and Vikki’s interactions during the interview to that of a father and his daughter. Answering whether Vikki ever felt like “the other woman” the new mum was interrupted by Barnaby who says “the fault [for having an affair] doesn’t reside with Vikki, it resides me with.”
He then adds, “I’m the adult, the fault is mine.” Vikki quite visibly mulls on Barnaby’s comment, her face contorts before she interrupts him saying, “But I’m an adult too!”
“Barnaby shows more signs of his major objective to ‘take responsibility’. Vikki’s cranky response while pulling away from him showed contempt,” Mahler says.
That awkward ‘grey area’ comment
Earlier in the year, before Sebastian’s birth, Barnaby made the surprising announcement that the unborn child may not be his. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald the politician said the identity of the biological father was “a grey area” but claimed he would raise the child as his own.
When asked about the odd statement in Sunday night’s program, Barnaby defended the comment saying it was a decision they had made as a couple, to which Vikki scoffs: “I didn’t say use the words ‘grey area’.”
Vikki admitted she was “deeply hurt by the ‘grey area’ headline.”
“Again, there is little collaboration on this part of the story,” notes Maler. “They have conflicting opinions and she is distancing herself from him physically.”
Vikki, Barnaby and Sebastian pose for first family portrait together, but is this a happy family?
Before the interview ends, father of four Barnaby is filmed posing for a portrait with his new family. Barnaby holds baby Seb while Vikki dotes on the child, fixing his blanket. The couple are not filmed making eye contact during this sequence of shots, a telling observation also noted by Mahler.
“He is holding her. She is leaning away and has eyes only for the baby. She does not give one look to Barnaby,” says Mahler.
In conclusion, Mahler has no doubt that Barnaby and Vikki love baby Sebastian, she sees that they adore him. However she notes there is “no affection between the two” adding “the major problem is the eye contact between them — there isn’t any!”
Mahler suggests Vikki is in the driver’s seat as she often “interrupts Barnaby, and overrides his decisions.” Yet Mahler says Vikki’s distress is very telling and she believes Barnaby is just making sure she doesn’t lose it.
“I don’t see this lasting,” Mahler concludes.
So the soap opera continues…
