However, the spat now seems firmly in the rearview mirror, with Mr Joyce telling The Australian: “I get a real sense of accomplishment that I’m still in her head long after I’ve forgotten about them.”

The dogs were removed from Australian territory in 2015 and in 2016, Ms Heard pleaded guilty to making a false statement on her immigration card after being charged with two counts of illegally importing dogs and one count of producing a false document. She had not told authorities that the dogs were on board the private jet she had flown in on.

Ms Heard was given a $1,000, one month good behaviour bond and the couple were made to release a video apologising for the incident and urging everyone to respect Australia’s strict animal quarantine laws. In the video, they described Australia as a “treasure trove of unique plants and animals”.

“Obviously, I now rate above Johnny Depp,” Mr Joyce added, a subtle reference to Ms Heard’s fractious divorce with Mr Depp, which played out over several years and court cases.

Ms Heard filed for divorce in 2016 and was also granted a temporary restraining order after accusing Mr Depp of being verbally and physically abusive.

Mr Depp unsuccessfully sued the publisher of the Sun newspaper for libel in 2018, after the paper ran a piece in which they referred to him as a “wife beater”.