Who's The Boss child star Danny Pintauro revealed publicly for the first time this week that he has been HIV positive for the past 12 years.

He revealed the news over the weekend to Oprah Winfrey in a Where Are They Now? special on the OWN television network. He had hesitated about going public with the diagnosis, but people close to him knew.

He admitted, "I am HIV positive" to the world's most successful and empathetic talk show host.

Pintauro, 39, opened up about his devastation when he learned about his diagnosis on Monday in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.

"It's like with anybody hearing that they've got some sort of terminal cancer or something awful," Pintauro told ET. "My life is forever changed."

Pintauro denies that being a child celebrity had anything to do with getting HIV. He said that he was having unprotected sex. He added that he used drugs that clouded his judgment.

Pintauro says people aren't talking about the problem of crystal meth in the gay community. "The drugs were a big problem. It's the meth. It takes away all your inhibitions."

Pintauro has put acting behind him and now works as a restaurant manager in Las Vegas. He married realtor Will Tabares in 2014.

He told his TV mom and Transparent star Judith Light years and said that she was supportive. Light, 66, appeared on Good Day New York on Monday after the Oprah segment had aired.

She told one of the hosts in regard to Pintauro's revelation according to Us Magazine, "The world is different, and it’s better, but we still need to have a more understanding and a more responsible and a more responsive and a kinder society."

Light shared about Pintauro's coming out in 1997. The National Enquirer threatened to out him, so he went public first. "He’s kept me informed all the way along, and when he was talking about coming out, because he was going to be outed," according to Us Magazine.

He said former costar Tony Danza has been supportive,:

"Tony was great," Pintauro told ET. "But I can tell he was a little disappointed for the drugs part more than anything."

Source: Entertainment Tonight, Us Magazine