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 DCI Roy Slater, corrupt police officer and nemesis of Del, for four years. Raquel was reunited with her parents in "Time On Our Hands", when she invited them to dinner at the flat. A kind-hearted and motherly figure, in Del she met a man with a similar nature – well-intentioned but ultimately with ambitions beyond his talent. Their relationship suffered several problems, and she briefly left Del in "Fatal Extraction" due to his gambling and heavy drinking. They were ultimately reconciled, though never married, despite hints of Del's desire to marry her. In later episodes, Del refers to Raquel as