American Idol star opens up about mental health and sexuality
FILE: Singer David Archuleta attends the Third Annual Tyler Robinson Foundation Gala to Benefit Families Affected by Pediatric Cancer at Caesars Palace on September 30, 2016 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
UTAH (KTVX) – David Archuleta, american idolThe Season 7 runner-up recently turned to his inner struggles and is now ready to “be real.”
The 38-year-old Utah resident is a devoted Latter-day Saint who even served a two-year mission in Chile. And he came out publicly as gay in June 2021.
In one recent video post on InstagramArchuleta has used the social media platform as a sort of sounding board, pouring out his inner struggles and emotions about his sexuality to his fans, telling them he needs to “let off some of the steam at the inside of me that accumulates”.
In his video, Archuleta revealed that he was having difficulty preparing for his upcoming tour due to his inner battles.
“I can no longer…pretend that everything is okay,” he said in the post.
A strongly emphasized religious doctrine taught to her is that marriage between a man and a woman “is everything,” Archuleta explained. “It’s ordained by God.”
The artist said that was also his plan: to marry a woman in the temple and have children.
Archuleta spoke about the feeling of connection and chemistry one experiences when physically and sexually attracted to another, saying he was never able to provide that in the heterosexual relationships he had been a part of. despite his efforts to “overcome the lack of feelings…and make it work.”
“But there’s this really weird emotion that comes up every time I would try to do that – this guilt, shame, (that I wasn’t) good enough… You start to feel bitter towards girls, in my case, and I just didn’t even want to see them anymore,” he said.
Archuleta lived his life hiding who he really is.
In his faith, the singer learned that being romantically or sexually involved with a man would make him unhappy and lost in his religious ways.
Archuleta has spoken of the depression and suicidal ideation he faced as a result of his inner turmoil, saying the reality of his attractions mixed with his community’s expectation that he marry a woman “prompted me to despise me”.
Archuleta said he was starting to wonder if God would rather he be with someone “who is the same as me” or “not being here and not existing”.
He decided life was worth the fight “even though I’m gay”, he said.
Today, Archuleta says he is at peace with his true identity and feels God’s unconditional love for who he is.
“It’s just part of my healing,” he told his fans on Instagram. “Thank you for being a community that has always been kind, willing to listen and be with me wherever I am. I greatly appreciate it.