David Archuleta Says His Mom Left Mormon Church in Support of His Queerness

David Archuleta spoke about his mom's support of his queer identity in a revealing new interview.

The American Idol alum chatted with Peopleat Project Angel Food’s Lead with Love fundraising event over the weekend. He noted that when he first came out to his mother (Lupe Marie Mayorga) as gay, she took some time to come around.

"My mom had a hard time accepting my journey. At first, she said, 'DA, I love you, but I love God more. And marriage is between a man and a woman.' And I'm like, 'Mom, I understand.' Because that's what I believed up until a month before coming out."

"And I said, 'Mom, I don't need you to accept everything about my journey immediately," he continued. "I just want you to be willing to walk along with me in this journey to learn alongside me. And she said, 'Okay, I can do that.'"

"It was really sweet to see her now at the point where she said, 'I don't want to leave my family just to follow God.' She's like, 'I can follow God and accept my son,'" Archuleta added.

The singer came out to his family in 2014 and publicly in June 2021. Mayorga would eventually leave the Mormon Church in support of her son.

"My mom said, 'I'm going to step away from the church.' And I was like, 'What?' And she just said, 'If you're going to hell, we're all going to hell together,'" the singer shared. "She just kind of said it in a funny way."

"It was sweet that she said, 'I'm with you wherever you go,'" he continued. "That was really sweet."

At the Lead with Love telethon event, Archuleta performed "The Prayer" with Grace Leer, another American Idol alum. He also reunited with former Idol judge and pop legend Paula Abdul.

Earlier this year, Archuleta took second place on Fox's The Masked Singer. His latest song, "I'm Yours," debuts this Friday.