DANNY PINTAURO OF WHO'S THE BOSS
"I wanted to tell you this a long time ago, but I wasn't ready. I'm ready now," he revealed, holding back tears. "I'm HIV positive. I have been for 12 years, and it's just a big deal. You know?It's not something that people are talking about, really."
Pintauro, who starred in the '80s sitcom, Who's The Boss, came out publicly as gay in 1997 after the National Enquirer threatened to out him.
"When I first came out, which was before everybody -- I mean, Ellen and I came out the same year. Rosie came out four years after I did -- I missed the opportunity to be a beacon of light for gay kids who were going through what I was going through," he tells Winfrey.
Not only did Pintauro open up about the heart wrenching struggles that come with being diagnosed HIV-positive, the 39-year-old former child actor also discussed the epidemic of crystal meth use within the gay community.
In 2014, Pintauro married his husband Wil Tabares in a small beachfront ceremony in Dana Point, CA. The two reportedly got engaged in 2013 in Palm Springs after a year of dating.
Watch a clip from the special when Pintauro discusses life after coming out publicly.
Pintauro will appear on ET on Monday.
