&lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Danny Pintauro HIV: The &lt;em&gt;Who&#39;s the Boss?&lt;/em&gt; Star Who Told Oprah His HIV Secret&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A Regular Checkup&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In March 2003, &lt;a href=&quot;https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Pintauro&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Danny Pintauro&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; went to his doctor in New York City for a routine checkup. He had blood work done, as he had expected, and nothing seemed unusual.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;I was living in New York at the time and completely clueless to the idea that I was positive,&quot; he later told Oprah Winfrey. &quot;I went in for a regular checkup. It was just regular blood work.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The results came back. He was HIV-positive.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;He was 27 years old &amp;mdash; the boy who had played Jonathan Bower on &lt;em&gt;Who&#39;s the Boss?&lt;/em&gt;, the child star who had grown up on one of the most recognisable sitcoms of the 1980s, now facing a diagnosis that he would keep private for the next twelve years.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;He later recalled thinking, &quot;I&#39;m never going to be able to have a good relationship. No one&#39;s ever going to want me.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;But that fear did not become his future.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;By 2015, when he finally spoke publicly about his HIV status, Pintauro was married to his husband, Wil Tabares, living in Las Vegas, and preparing to use his experience to speak more openly about HIV.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Born in New Jersey, Famous Before He Was Ten&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Daniel John Pintauro was born on 6 January 1976 in Milltown, New Jersey.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;He began his acting career as a child, appearing in television commercials before landing his breakthrough role. In 1984, at the age of eight, he was cast as Jonathan Bower, the young son of Judith Light&#39;s character Angela, on &lt;em&gt;Who&#39;s the Boss?&lt;/em&gt;, the ABC sitcom that also starred Tony Danza and Alyssa Milano.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://cms.goodbyehiv.com/Files/Pai/Celebrities%20with%20HIV%20%E2%80%93%2034%20%E2%80%93%20Danny%20Pintauro%20The%20Who&#39;s%20the%20Boss%20Child%20Star%20Who%20Told%20Oprah%20His%20HIV%20Secret%20After%2012%20Years%20Goodbye%20HIV%2003.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Celebrities with HIV &amp;ndash; 34 &amp;ndash; Danny Pintauro The Who&#39;s the Boss Child Star Who Told Oprah His HIV Secret After 12 Years Goodbye HIV 03.jpg (127 KB)&quot; width=&quot;550&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #808080;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image source: &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://people.com/danny-pintauro-says-he-has-mixed-feelings-about-whos-the-boss-34-years-after-show-ended-12012348&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;PEOPLE&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The show ran for eight seasons, from 1984 to 1992. Pintauro grew up on screen, moving from child actor to teenager while millions of viewers watched.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Away from the cameras, he was also beginning to understand his sexuality. Years later, he would speak publicly about the difficulty of coming to terms with being gay while growing up in the public eye.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Outed by a Tabloid&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In 1997, five years after &lt;a href=&quot;https://abcnews.com/Entertainment/whos-boss-star-danny-pintauro-reveals-hiv/story?id=34100753&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Who&#39;s the Boss?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; ended, Pintauro came out as gay at the age of 21. The disclosure, however, was not entirely on his own terms.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The &lt;em&gt;National Enquirer&lt;/em&gt; had learned about his sexuality and planned to publish a story. Pintauro decided to confirm that he was gay publicly before the article appeared.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;When I first came out, which was before everybody &amp;mdash; Ellen and I came out the same year. Rosie came out four years after I did&amp;mdash;I missed the opportunity to be a beacon of light for gay kids who were going through what I was going through,&quot; he later told Oprah.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;I missed it because I was outed. It wasn&#39;t by choice.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The experience stayed with him. Eighteen years later, when he had another deeply personal truth to share, he chose a very different setting &amp;mdash; an interview with Oprah Winfrey, where he could speak in his own words.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Meth Use, Sexual Health and HIV&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;After &lt;em&gt;Who&#39;s the Boss?&lt;/em&gt; ended, Pintauro continued working in the performing arts while building a life away from the level of attention he had experienced as a child star.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;During this period, he also used crystal methamphetamine. He later discussed that period openly in interviews, including his conversation with Oprah and &lt;a href=&quot;https://people.com/tv/danny-pintauro-has-hiv-former-child-star-reveals-status-to-oprah-winfrey&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;interviews with &lt;em&gt;People&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Pintauro described how drug use affected his judgement and sexual decision-making at the time. He later connected that period of his life with the circumstances surrounding his HIV diagnosis.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Importantly, his story should not be reduced to a simple cause-and-effect narrative between drug use and HIV. HIV can be acquired through specific forms of exposure, and Pintauro later spoke publicly about how he believed he acquired HIV.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;His decision to discuss his past was part of a broader effort to encourage people to take HIV prevention, testing and sexual health seriously.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In 2015, he said he was speaking out because he wanted people in his community to think carefully about the risks associated with drug use and sexual behaviour and to take care of one another.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Telling Oprah&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;In September 2015, Danny Pintauro appeared on &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.cbsnews.com/news/whos-the-boss-star-danny-pintauro-im-hiv-positive&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Oprah: Where Are They Now?&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, the OWN series in which Oprah Winfrey revisited people whose stories had captured public attention.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;During the interview, Pintauro revealed that he had been living with HIV for twelve years.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://cms.goodbyehiv.com/Files/Pai/Celebrities%20with%20HIV%20%E2%80%93%2034%20%E2%80%93%20Danny%20Pintauro%20The%20Who&#39;s%20the%20Boss%20Child%20Star%20Who%20Told%20Oprah%20His%20HIV%20Secret%20After%2012%20Years%20Goodbye%20HIV%2005.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Celebrities with HIV &amp;ndash; 34 &amp;ndash; Danny Pintauro The Who&#39;s the Boss Child Star Who Told Oprah His HIV Secret After 12 Years Goodbye HIV 05.jpg (123 KB)&quot; width=&quot;550&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #808080;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image source: &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://ew.com/danny-pintauro-recovering-from-emergency-surgery-following-scooter-accident-8753634&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Entertainment Weekly&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;I wanted to tell you this a long time ago, but I wasn&#39;t ready. I&#39;m ready now. I&#39;m HIV-positive, and I have been for 12 years. It&#39;s just a big deal.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;He explained that his diagnosis had come after what he described as a routine checkup and blood work in 2003.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;He also spoke about the fear he had carried before his diagnosis and the complicated feeling of relief that followed.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&quot;There was a sense of relief. It&#39;s backwards. You&#39;ve spent so much time terrified that you&#39;re going to get it, and then you have it, and you don&#39;t have to be terrified anymore.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For Pintauro, speaking publicly was not simply about revealing a diagnosis. It was about challenging the fear and stigma that had surrounded HIV for much of his life.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;He also told Oprah that HIV was no longer the death sentence it had once been perceived to be and that people living with HIV could have healthy and happy lives.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;That message remains important. Modern HIV treatment can suppress HIV to an undetectable level, allowing people living with HIV to live long, healthy lives. &lt;a href=&quot;https://www.cdc.gov/global-hiv-tb/php/our-approach/undetectable-untransmittable.html&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;People who maintain an undetectable viral load&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; also do not transmit HIV through sex.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;iframe src=&quot;//www.youtube.com/embed/Vw-ozSmyDdA&quot; width=&quot;550&quot; height=&quot;314&quot; allowfullscreen=&quot;allowfullscreen&quot;&gt;&lt;/iframe&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #808080;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Former child star Danny Pintauro opens up about his emotional journey after publicly revealing his HIV diagnosis&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A Life Beyond the Diagnosis&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;By the time Pintauro disclosed his HIV status publicly, his life was very different from the future he had once feared.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;He had married Wil Tabares in 2014 in Dana Point, California, after becoming engaged the previous year. He was living in Las Vegas and had decided to speak publicly about HIV.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://cms.goodbyehiv.com/Files/Pai/Celebrities%20with%20HIV%20%E2%80%93%2034%20%E2%80%93%20Danny%20Pintauro%20The%20Who&#39;s%20the%20Boss%20Child%20Star%20Who%20Told%20Oprah%20His%20HIV%20Secret%20After%2012%20Years%20Goodbye%20HIV%2016.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Celebrities with HIV &amp;ndash; 34 &amp;ndash; Danny Pintauro The Who&#39;s the Boss Child Star Who Told Oprah His HIV Secret After 12 Years Goodbye HIV 16.jpg (138 KB)&quot; width=&quot;550&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #808080;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image source: &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.instagram.com/p/DH_1JNqyfTc/&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Danny Pintauro / Instagram&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;His disclosure also came at a time when he was beginning to embrace a more public role in HIV awareness. &lt;a href=&quot;https://people.com/tv/danny-pintauro-discusses-life-after-revealing-he-is-hiv-positive/&quot;&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Contemporary reporting&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/a&gt; described him as dedicating himself to becoming an HIV activist.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Rather than allowing his diagnosis to define his entire identity, Pintauro used his experience to talk about HIV testing, stigma, sexual health, drug use, and the importance of accurate information.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;His story also offered a personal counterpoint to the outdated idea that an HIV diagnosis means the end of relationships, marriage, or a fulfilling life.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;h2&gt;&lt;strong&gt;What His Story Means&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Danny Pintauro&#39;s story spans several chapters of modern HIV history.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;He became famous as a child actor on &lt;em&gt;Who&#39;s the Boss?&lt;/em&gt; He came out as gay at 21 after a tabloid threatened to expose him. At 27, he was diagnosed with HIV after a routine checkup and blood work. He then kept his diagnosis private for twelve years before choosing to tell Oprah Winfrey &amp;mdash; and the wider public &amp;mdash; in 2015.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;His story matters beyond celebrity disclosure.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;It highlights how fear and stigma can influence the way people experience an HIV diagnosis. It also shows how difficult conversations about HIV can become education opportunities when people are willing to speak openly about their experiences.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p style=&quot;text-align: center;&quot;&gt;&lt;img src=&quot;https://cms.goodbyehiv.com/Files/Pai/Celebrities%20with%20HIV%20%E2%80%93%2034%20%E2%80%93%20Danny%20Pintauro%20The%20Who&#39;s%20the%20Boss%20Child%20Star%20Who%20Told%20Oprah%20His%20HIV%20Secret%20After%2012%20Years%20Goodbye%20HIV%2014.jpg&quot; alt=&quot;Celebrities with HIV &amp;ndash; 34 &amp;ndash; Danny Pintauro The Who&#39;s the Boss Child Star Who Told Oprah His HIV Secret After 12 Years Goodbye HIV 14.jpg (98 KB)&quot; width=&quot;550&quot; /&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;span style=&quot;color: #808080;&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image source: &lt;/em&gt;&lt;/span&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;https://www.washingtonblade.com/2015/10/28/pintauro-defends-comments-on-oral-sex-hiv-transmission/&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Michael Key / Washington Blade&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Most importantly, Pintauro&#39;s story challenges the idea that HIV has to prevent someone from having love, relationships, marriage or a meaningful life.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;When he spoke publicly, he wanted to be the &quot;beacon of light&quot; he felt he had been unable to be when he first came out.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;His story became part of that effort.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Diagnosed with HIV in 2003, Pintauro shared his story with Oprah in 2015. By speaking openly, he helped make room for a more informed and less fearful conversation about living with HIV.&lt;/p&gt;

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