After days of rumours and speculation, Charlie Sheen has admitted, in his own words, that he is HIV positive.

He revealed that he was diagnosed ‘roughly four years ago’ and that he has paid millions to keep people quiet.

“I am in fact HIV-positive … It’s a hard three letters to absorb. It’s a turning point in one’s life,” he told NBC’s The Today Show in the US overnight. “It started with what I thought was a series of crushing headaches. I thought I had a brain tumour. I thought it was over.”

Charlie, 50, doesn’t know how he contracted the virus and said he had paid up to $14million in hush money.

“I’ve paid those people. Not that many but enough where it has depleted the future … enough to bring it into the millions … that’s money they’re taking from my children,” he said.

For more information about living with HIV, visit the National Association of People with HIV Australia website or the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations website.