Del Boy never marries. He has had many girlfriends, a fact that is the subject of numerous sarcastic comments by Rodney. He finally meets his partner Raquel Turner (whom he calls his "significant other") in the 1988 special "Dates". Del's mother Joan dies on 12 March 1964, apparently after a long string of illnesses. His lazy father Reginald leaves three months later (on Del's 16th birthday), taking most of their money and even Del's birthday cake. This leaves the teenage Del as the family's sole breadwinner, looking after his grandfather and Rodney, his half-brother who was born around thirteen years after him
Raquel Turner a very poor reputation in 1988, and would be cancelled the following year). She also mentioned that, owing to her career choice, she had long been estranged from her parents, not having seen or spoken to them for years. However, she didn’t mention to Del that she supplemented her income with a part-time job as a stripagram, a fact he only discovered when he unwittingly booked her for Uncle Albert's birthday party at the "Nag's Head" pub. Humiliated in front of all his friends, Del told her he didn't care to see her anymore. However, a conversation with Raquel revealed