David Archuleta Gives Happy Life Update

The singer celebrates a long road to self-acceptance.

By Ashley Turner

David Archuleta is happy being in his own skin. The former American Idol contestant recently spoke to TODAY.com about finally arriving at a place of self-acceptance while growing up as a 17-year-old in the public eye. Archuleta publicly announced that he was a member of the LGBTQ community in June 2021 at the age of 30. He revealed in an Instagram post that, after opening up about his sexual orientation to his family in 2014, he decided to consider himself on the bisexual spectrum. Since then, he has disclosed that he had previously been engaged to three women before breaking off each relationship. It had been hard for him to come to terms with himself in the past. "I was praying and saying, 'Please take this away from me. Please make me straight.' And I finally had a moment and was like 'No, you're how you're supposed to be. And as you can see, you've tried for 15 years to change this. It's not going to change,'" Archuleta recounted. "I had a shift in beliefs and values all of a sudden. And it was freeing."

In his youth, he grew up in Utah as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which shaped his beliefs and values. Concerning Archuleta's Mormon faith now, "It's hard to say I identify myself as Christian or another religion," he told TODAY.com. "I don't really consider myself religious currently. I've had to distance myself. I do plan to write a book about it, because having conversations with the leadership of my church, and seeing the conflict within their own way of doing things, I felt was quite alarming." His journey of self-discovery has required him to distance himself from his religious upbringing. "I think it's OK to take time to step away from your beliefs religiously to explore yourself for who you are, regardless of any belief that you may hold onto. No belief will really change what goes on in your head … your chemistry, your brain, who you're attracted to."

Regarding the next chapter of Archuleta's life, he had a message for the future. "I think a lot of people, especially from my religion, said, 'Look at the darkness in his eyes. He's so depressed and sad because he has accepted a part of him that he's not supposed to accept.' Actually, I am the happiest I've been. I'm no longer feeling like ending my life is better an option than existing," he says. According to Archuleta, his new music, including his single "Afraid to Love," is about experiencing "what it feels like to love someone, whoever that may be, even if you're queer. It's just a wholesome, innocent, lovely, beautiful, colorful, vibrant experience."

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