Danny Pintauro shared very personal news on Saturday night’s “Oprah: Where Are They Now?”
Speaking with host Oprah Winfrey, the former “Who’s The Boss? ” star – who publically came out in 1997 and now prefers to be called Daniel – revealed he’s been living with HIV for 12 years.
“I wanted to tell you this a long time ago, but I wasn’t ready,” he said. “I’m ready now, I’m HIV-positive and I have been for 12 years.”
The actor – who played Jonathan Bower on the ’80s show – said he missed his chance to be a “beacon of light” to other gay people when he first came out, and is now speaking out about the dangers of mixing drugs and sex in an effort to prevent others from contracting the virus.
“I was doing crystal meth, which completely ruins your immune system,” he explained. “I had just come out of a two-year relationship and I discovered in that relationship that there was more I wanted to explore sexually. Crystal meth takes away your inhibitions. I was experimenting and believe it or not, I thought I was being safe in that encounter.”
Daniel knows which meth-fueled sexual encounter gave him HIV, but doesn’t remember the man’s name.
“I regret not knowing that, because that person has completely changed my life,” he said.
He learned of his diagnosis during one of his standard checkups, which he was undergoing every six months.
“You go in and you sort of waited two weeks on pins and needles, or at least I did because I was just terrified of the idea of getting HIV,” he said.
After learning he was HIV-positive, the former small screen star, then 27, said he was worried he’d never be able to find love again.
“It’s a weird combination of feelings. There’s this awful feeling of ‘I’m never going to be able to have a good relationship, no one’s ever gonna want me. That was there and that was prevalent,” he recalled.
On his first date with now-husband Wil Tabares, Daniel immediately disclosed his HIV status.
“It was our first date and we hadn’t even kissed and it was the first thing I told him. The first thing he said was, ‘I’m not scared of it at all,'” Daniel shared.
Daniel currently manages a restaurant and lives in Las Vegas with his husband, whom he married in April 2014.
— Erin O’Sullivan
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