Natalie Joyce, estranged wife of Barnaby, has derided his tell-all TV interview with new partner Vikki Campion as an “absolute disgrace”, in comments sure to reverberate when Mr Joyce faces reelection in his seat of New England.

Speaking out – unpaid – for the July edition of The Australian Women’s Weekly, Mrs Joyce appeared to question Mr Joyce’s fitness for higher office by alleging he was on the verge of a breakdown.

She also questioned why her husband did not put aside any of the reported $150,000 he and Vikki were paid by Channel Seven for his four daughters.

“I wasn’t surprised she sold their ‘exclusive’ story, and certainly not surprised the $150,000 went to her child, but it begs the question, if Barney agreed to be a part of it, how could he allow his four girls to be overlooked?” Mrs Joyce told the magazine.

Mrs Joyce appears on the front cover of the July edition of Women’s Weekly.

“In saying that, I wouldn’t want a cent of that money. It was all we could do to watch it without throwing a brick at the TV!”

The magazine interview was only the second time Mrs Joyce had spoken publicly since it was revealed in February, on the front page of The Daily Telegraph, that Ms Campion was pregnant to her husband.

Shortly after the news broke, Mrs Joyce put out a brief statement saying she was “deeply saddened” by the “devastating” revelations, adding she and her daughters felt “deceived and hurt by the actions of Barnaby and the staff member involved”.

Mrs Joyce said she had chosen to speak at greater length to Women’s Weekly in order to inspire her daughters, Bridgette, 21, Julia, 20, Caroline, 18, and Odette, 15.

“They thought I would lie down, but this time I couldn’t,” she said.

“I’m doing this so the girls feel empowered, and know their mum stood up and defended our fine name.”

Mrs Joyce may have been following in the footsteps of journalist Cassandra Thorburn, former partner of high-profile media personality Karl Stefanovic, who excoriated the media for false reporting in an open letter to Woman’s Day.

Mrs Joyce told the magazine she had to find her voice. Photo: Instagram

Despite the heavy toll the scandal has taken on his political career, including the loss of the deputy prime ministership and leadership of The Nationals party, Mr Joyce is adamant he will recontest the seat of New England at the next election.

“Of course I am running again. The first people I would tell if I wasn’t would be the electorate,” Mr Joyce said earlier in June.

This was despite calling some of his colleagues “the absolute scum of the earth … that’s the Australian Parliament”.

New Nationals leader Michael McCormack has said it was up to local National Party members to decide whether Mr Joyce retained preselection for his seat.

“At the end of the day it’s a matter for the local branch in New England,” he said.

“Anybody can win so long as they’ve got the support of their local branch, and their local electorate council, and that’s the way it works.”

Mr Joyce retained the seat with 64.92 per cent of the vote (an increased margin of 12.63 percentage points) at a byelection in December 2017, triggered by the fact he had never held the seat legally, due to a dual New Zealand citizenship.

Following the public backlash to his Sunday Night interview with Ms Campion, Mr Joyce took two weeks of personal leave from parliamentary duties.

He was due to return to Parliament this week but has taken additional leave to mourn the loss of his brother, Tim Joyce, who died of cancer.

An allegation of sexual harassment against Mr Joyce brought by West Australian woman Catherine Marriott is yet to be resolved.

The complaint is being investigated by the NSW Nationals branch.

Earlier this month, Mr Joyce said the matter had been “hanging over my head for too long” and needed to be “finalised ASAP”.