Two gay men who met online and started a physical relationship discovered they were actually brothers live on the Jeremy Kyle show.

A DNA test revealed the shock truth for lovers Paul and Lee, who had been a couple for years after finding each other online.

The pair - who exchanged flirty messages for a full two years before hooking-up - were none the wiser to the fact they shared the same mother...and were in fact closer than either of them could ever have imagined.

The reality only came to light when Lee's family and friends first met his new lover and noticed a striking similarity between Paul and his mother's former husband, Ron.

To set the record straight, the men chose to appear on The Jeremy Kyle Show, where they requested a DNA test that they hoped would prove that they didn't share the same blood.

However, the results confirmed the suspicions that Paul and Lee were actually half-brothers, and left both men speechless.

Speaking before he revealed the results to the pair, Kyle said: 'You are having a physical sexual relationship with a man that you love and want to marry and at some point somebody might tell you that he could be your half-brother.

Lee (far right) and Paul (middle) sit anxiously as show host Jeremy Kyle prepares to give them the DNA result

The men are left dumbfounded after being told that as well as being lovers, they are in fact brothers too

'What does that do to you?'

Lee responded by saying: 'It make me sick.

'It makes me basically horrible. I can't describe it.'

Upon hearing the devastating news that he and Paul are related, Lee sits visibly shaken by the sensational discovery.

Paul, wearing a pink polo-shirt and green jacket, clasps his hands over his mouth.

The newly discovered brothers couldn't speak after being told they were much closer than they thought

Footage from the ITV show then shows the pair sitting in a stunned silence for 20 seconds, with even notorious motor-mouth Kyle left lost for words at the shock revelation.

The brothers had never met before chatting online.

Paul was taken into care when he was only 18 months old, with Lee later conceived by the same mother, Ena.

If it turns out Paul is my son I would be so happy and would love to get to know him Ena, Paul and Lee's mother

After finding out that two of her four children were now in a homosexual relationship together, Ena said: 'When I saw Paul for the first time I instantly thought he looked like my ex-husband Ron.

'If it turns out Paul is my son I would be so happy and would love to get to know him.'

The segment - which was first broadcast in 2012 - featured on Kyle's ten year anniversary show broadcast on Thursday.

According to the show, both men have since moved on, but remain closer than ever as brothers.