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
The Class of '62 the Nag's Head Raquel enters to find Slater conversing with Mike, she inquires as to why he's staying around when Del and Rodney enter. Raquel then goes to wait outside in the Trotter van, as Del asks Slater if he had known all along that Raquel was living with him. Slater casually agrees, revealing to Del that he only organised the 'reunion' idea to get into Del's flat and get Raquel to sign the post-nuptial agreement. Del Boy and Rodney then show Slater one of their Futafax machines, which Del says he used to make several photocopies of Slater's diamond