David Archuleta Calls Coming Out 'A Miracle,' Says He's 'Comfortable' Now

More than a year after coming out, Mormon "American Idol" star and recording artist David Archuleta can finally say he loves himself, Yahoo! Entertainment reported.

After a lifetime of struggle, the "Crush" singer now sees his public embrace of authenticity as a "miracle."

"I feel like it's a miracle that I've gotten to this place where I am accepting myself," he said. "I didn't think I ever could. I thought the only way that I could accept myself was if this part of me was gone and to get rid of it and praying that this part would no longer be associated with who I am."

"Now it's a miracle that I embrace this part of me and I love this part of me. I never had been able to say that I love myself."

Archuleta, 31, made his comments in an interview with LGBTQ+ publication Out, Yahoo! Entertainment noted.

The pop star reflected on how he almost got married for inauthentic reasons.

"Literally my purpose before was building up the kingdom of God and the greatest way [to] do that was to marry a woman and have children with her," the singer explained, going on to add: "I've been engaged three times. I bought three wedding rings for girls, but it felt dishonest."

Now that he's set pretense aside, Archuleta said that he still feels a need to determine his purpose "as a queer person."

"I just say I'm queer," Archuleta added, addressing how he identifies. "I still don't know exactly where I am on the spectrum. I'm definitely more leaning towards guys. That's who I've been dating... are guys."

Even so, he says he's in a better place now than he was before.

"I feel a lot more comfortable with myself. I've been able to sit with it for over a year now and explore that, and not judge myself so much for simply being the way that I am," he said.

With the shift has come new challenges in terms of his art, the "American Idol" season 7 runner-up admitted, saying he has found it "difficult having to reidentify myself."

But that process, too, has been a wellspring for his art – namely, his 2020 album, "Therapy Sessions," which is his eighth studio album.

"There was a lot of this frustration that was coming out that I guess I had never allowed to come forward," the pop singer disclosed in a 2021 interview. "And I was now finally being able to take a look at [what] was coming through and being put into the songs – kind of completing my therapy in a way, just by verbalizing the frustration."

As previously reported, Archuleta came out publicly during Pride Month last year, saying in an Instagram post: "There's so much relief to not feel like you have to hide a part of yourself, like a secret."