Once a bully, Ric Dalby is now a stand-up guy thanks to his foster-Mum, Sally, and grand-father, Alf.
When Ric’s mother died, Ric’s father turned to drinking as a means of dealing with his grief. Owen’s drunken aggression was taken out on his son. For years Ric was subjected to physical and emotional abuse from his father.
Although he grew up terrified of his father, Ric himself took great pleasure in bullying other vulnerable students at school. Needless to say, Ric was an unpopular boy at Yabbie Creek High and was eventually expelled. Barry Hyde, the principal of Summer Bay High, was keen to have a strong swimmer for the school’s swim team, so Ric became a student at Summer Bay High.
Alf, who had always clashed with Ric, was amazed to discover that the boy was his grandson. He tried to reach out to Ric, who resisted at first but Matilda, developed a great friendship with him and convinced him that Alf is the only family he has left in the world. Ric then accepted Alf, but preferred to live with Sally, Cassie and little Pippa as a family.
Following the death of Flynn, Ric decided he wanted to leave school, despite the family's disappointment. When Ric started an apprenticeship with a car mechanic firm he was subjected to workplace bullying, but he is now a good mechanic and helped Drew fix up his car The Beast. He has matured a great deal and is often trying to help Drew and Mattie from making mistakes, however, he still finds it hard to kerb his flying fists.
Although Mattie is unquestionably the love of his life, they went through a rough patch and Ric was seduced by Viv Anderson. This mistake has haunted him ever since. Viv's husband is a nasty piece of work and uses this indiscretion to his advantage. When Viv discovered she was pregnant with Ric's child, Mattie found it impossible to be with him. They now worked through their problems and decided to stay together.
Relationship status
He has patched things up with Mattie.
Past relationships
The story of Ric’s love-life goes like this: first Cassie, then Belle, then Cassie again before being dumped and re-discovering his unresolved feelings for Matilda. Then Viv and back to Mattie.
Family
Alf is his grand-father and Sally his foster-mother. Martha is a cousin.
Friends
Ric’s good mates with Drew (eventhough he's in the City), Jack, and gets along well with Belle.
Living arrangements
Ric lives with Alf, Miles, and Jai.
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