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 Ormella Raquel Ormella Raquel Ormella (born 1969) is an Australian multimedia artist known for addressing social issues. Raquel Ormella was born in Sydney in 1969. Ormella completed her undergraduate degree and a Masters by research, at the University of Western Sydney, and in 2013 a PhD at the Australian National University. Her thesis examined human relationships with urban birds. Since 2006 Raquel Ormella has taught painting at the Australian National University in the 3rd year, Honours and post-graduate programs. Ormella is an artist working at the intersections of art and activism, investigating the means by which critical reflexivity in contemporary art