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David Archuleta Says He Experienced Homelessness at Height of 'American Idol' Fame
For a stretch, David Archuleta really did keep running from the truth.
Before coming out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community in 2021, the American Idol alum struggled to determine if his romances were real or just another crush. As the once-devout Mormon admitted in an exclusive interview with E! News, he wrestled to reckon his faith and his sexuality—which is why he “got pretty close” to marrying three different women.
“I bought three different rings,” noted Archuleta, quipping, “Catching up to Ariana Grande with the seven rings.”
At 35 years old, the singer is now comfortable discussing the sexual awakenings he had while watching Adam Levine and Maroon 5 make moves like Jagger and why he wants to talk about sex through his partnership with pharmaceutical company Gilead.
But in his 20s, when he was coming to terms with the forbidden temptation of “possibly being gay or bisexual,” Archuleta shared, he regrettably leaned on church leaders to guide him.
“The answers that they gave me didn't seem like they were educated responses,” he explained. “They said, ‘If you marry a woman, God will bless you to be rid of those feelings.’”
So, as Archuleta noted, “I went into those marriages with that idea.”
But the musician's mind kept returning to a common refrain amid his third engagement.
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“We're approaching the wedding day, and I was starting to get anxiety attacks,” he shared. “I was starting to realize I'm trying to lie to myself in order to fit this picture that other people have arranged for me and I just can't do it.”
Bottom line, he said of his revelation, “I just knew it wasn't right.”
While he did love his fiancées and felt physically attracted to them, Archuleta came to terms with the fact that marrying a woman wouldn’t extinguish his stronger attraction to men.
“I realized how much of a disservice I was doing—not just to myself, but also to the women I was engaged to,” explained Archuleta, who left the Mormon church the year after he came out publicly. “You could just sense these feelings aren't going to go away, and if anything, I'm going to become bitter and resentful, and it can get really messy in this relationship.”
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Because his feelings toward men weren’t just a crush, he added: “I could tell eventually it's going to spiral and probably just crash and burn.”
Instead, he let the realization light a fire within him.
“I loved these girls. They were wonderful and they were beautiful,” he shared. However, he added, “I had to be honest to myself and honest to them and eventually honest to everybody else.”
Finding freedom in that candor, Archuleta is encouraging others to sing along and take ownership over their sexual health.
After all, he wishes he’d been exposed to more conversations about the topic and the sorts of HIV prevention resources that Gilead offers.
“I wish I had someone that I could see talking about this so that I wasn't so scared of it,” Archuleta noted of resources like preventative HIV medication PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis). "I'm hoping that if there's somebody who was raised that way, who was afraid of these topics, afraid to go get STI testing, to show how not scary it is."
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The information on Gilead’s HealthySexual website is the type of knowledge that helped the “Crush” singer transform his belief that sex would “ruin your life” into realizing that healthy sex practices can give you a confidence boost during the “discovery of yourself.”
Not one to belt such things out, “I used to be so scared before,” Archuleta admitted. “The more you just teach yourself about sexual health and being sexually responsible, it's a game changer. You can walk with so much more assurance in yourself and in who you are, and empower yourself by doing so.”
Of course, David isn’t the only celebrity to open up about their LGBTQ+ identity. Read on for more stars who have let the world in on their self-discovery.
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JoJo Siwa
The Dance Moms alum didn't give it a second thought when she came out in a 2021 Instagram story.
"I came out when I was 17 but I didn't understand at the time what a big deal that was," she told People in October 2023. "I didn't understand why that was scary."
"Of course there was a lot of positivity and love and acceptance but then there was a lot of negativity, and I did lose a lot," she continued. "I didn't care, and I still don't care [about] the things I lost and the people that I lost and if I lost a chunk of fans...because it's who I am."
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Miley Cyrus
While the "Flowers" singer was never a big fan of labels, she came out as pansexual in 2016.
"My whole life, I didn't understand my own gender and my own sexuality," she revealed to Variety in October 2016. "I always hated the word 'bisexual,' because that's even putting me in a box. I don't ever think about someone being a boy or someone being a girl."
She continued, "Also, my nipple pasties and s--t never felt sexualized to me. My eyes started opening in the fifth or sixth grade. My first relationship in my life was with a chick."
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Matt Bomer
For Matt, coming out to his conservative Christian family marked the start of a new era in his life.
"Telling your family is a huge, huge deal," the White Collar alum, who shares three kids with husband Simon Halls, previously told OUT Magazine. "I really view my life as divided between the time before I told my parents, and the time after. And the decisions I made, and the life I lived, before and after, are vastly different. It's night and day."
(Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for MTV)
Chappell Roan
The "Good Luck, Babe!" singer revealed that she isn't always as confident and comfortable as she may seem. And her Midwest roots played a huge role.
"I was scared of flamboyantly gay people because I was taught that," she told Rolling Stone. "[I realized] people hate flamboyantly gay people because it just exudes femininity, and people hate women. Just little things like that, you're like, 'Oh my God, this is just so f--ked.'"
"It took a lot of unlearning, and there's still things I"m still confused about, and [it's] why I feel so uncomfortable being gay sometimes," she continued. "I don't get why this is such an issue for me. It shouldn't be, but something's just going on and I need to just accept that."
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Gabby Windey
The Bachelorette alum came out on an episode of The View, when she revealed she was in a committed relationship with Robby Hoffman, the comedian she wed in January 2025.
"I've been keeping it kind of private," she said in the August 2023 episode, "because it is a bigger story and a bigger conversation because I'm dating a girl."
"I think it was always a whisper in me that just got louder and louder," she continued. "I didn't really know to pay attention to it. When this happens there's some shame attached to it and I had to a little bit navigate through that shame; what is it, where is it coming from."
(Photo by Gilbert Flores/Billboard via Getty Images)
Renee Rapp
The Mean Girls star, having previously identified as bisexual, came out as lesbian in January 2024—on an episode of Saturday Night Live. And her friends played a supporting role in the decision.
“All of a sudden, I had these people around me who were either nonbinary people, trans friends, or lesbians," she told Billboard months later, "and I was like, ‘I feel so happy when I’m with you guys. And I also really want to call myself a lesbian when I’m around you.’”
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Amber Ruffin
The former late-night host officially came out as queer on the last day of Pride month in 2024.
“In what will come as a shock to exactly zero people, I’m using the last day of PRIDE to come out!” she wrote in a June 2024 Instagram post, wearing a tank with the word “Queer” printed on the front.
“Be proud of who you are, little babies! I know I am!” she continued. “And I can’t wait to be discriminated against for a new reason!!”
(Photo by Gotham/Getty Images)
Dove Cameron
Before revealing her sexuality, the former Disney Channel star was actually nervous to publicly come out as queer.
"I've hinted about my sexuality for years while being afraid to spell it out for everybody," she told Gay Times in May 2021. "I did a lyric video last year, for 'We Belong.' It had moving line drawings of people falling in love…It was all a man and a woman making out and it was a weird moment for me."
"When the song came out, everybody got the idea that the song was a big LGBTQ+ anthem song and I found myself in this position where everyone thought I was queerbaiting," she continued. "I went on Instagram Live and said 'Guys, I really needed to explain something to you. Maybe I haven't said it, but I'm super queer. This is something I want to represent through my music because it's who I am.'"
(Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
Demi Lovato
The "Heart Attack" singer came out as nonbinary in a 2021 Instagram post.
"Every day we wake up, we are given another opportunity and chance to be who we want and wish to be," she wrote in the caption. "I've spent the majority of my life growing in front of all of you… you've seen the good, the bad, and everything in between. Not only has my life been a journey for myself, I was also living for those on the other side of the cameras."
"Today is a day I'm so happy to share more of my life with you all - I am proud to let you know that I identify as non-binary and will officially be changing my pronouns to they/them moving forward," Demi—who has since gone back to using she/her pronouns—continued. "This has come after a lot of healing and self-reflective work. I'm still learning and coming into myself, and I don't claim to be an expert or a spokesperson. Sharing this with you now opens another level of vulnerability for me."
(Photo by Steven Simione/FilmMagic)
Becca Tilley
Though the Bachelor alum has been dating singer Hayley Kiyoko since 2018, she did not publicly come out until four years into her relationship. And though she admitted it felt weird once everyone found out, she saw the impact of publicly sharing her truth.
"I realized this is so much bigger than me and my relationship and my personal experience because if it helped anyone feel comfortable or brave to be comfortable with who they fall in love with, then that's way bigger than me and my fears and what I was scared of," she told E! News in June 2022. "It's very humbling to read comments like that and realize the significance of something as simple as falling in love and sharing that."
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Troye Sivan
Three years after coming out to his family at age 15, Troye publicly shared his story in a YouTube video. And as he later recalled, his decision to come out occurred amid a pivotal moment in his life.
"I was about to sign my record deal, and I really wanted to be in charge of how I came out," he told People in February 2022. "I didn't want anyone to take that away from me. I wanted to start going out and going to gay clubs and meeting boys, and I wanted to write songs about love that were true and genuine."
(Photo by John Salangsang/Variety via Getty Images)
Chrishell Stause
The Selling Sunset star—who is married to singer G Flip—stresses the importance of prioritizing yourself.
"If someone truly loves you, your happiness should always come before their beliefs," Chrishell, who began her romance with the Australian singer in 2022, told E! News. "Never conform to others ideas they have for your life. It's yours and you only get one."
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Chris Olsen
The TikToker—who was openly gay at an all-boys high school—uses his platform to encourage others to be comfortable with who they are.
"My identity will already be something that can be of controversy, depending on who the audience is," Chris told E! News in October 2022. "So one of my passive-active missions in having this platform is to try to break that down and bring normalcy to this identity."
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Andy Cohen
The Bravo star, who came out while in college, shared some valuable advice for having those big coming out conversations.
"My advice would be, find one friend that you can tell," he previously told E! News. "All it takes is one friend that you know will be supportive. And that friend can be your island and just kind of branch out from there. It's always worse in your head than it's going to be."
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