David Archuleta Shares 'Special' Bond With Heather Gay and Jessi Ngatikaura

American Idol alum David Archuleta forged long-lasting friendships with reality TV stars Heather Gay and Jessi Ngatikaura over their respective former ties to the Church of Latter-Day Saints.

“A couple nights ago, I had Jessi, who is one of the amazing women on [The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives], who’s been vulnerable, open and messy in front of everybody … [host] one of my book tour nights in Salt Lake City,” Archuleta, 35, exclusively told Us Weekly while attending Actors Rising Presented by The Actor Awards and ELLE on Thursday, February 26. “That was really cool.”

He added, “We gained this special connection with each other, having both been raised Mormon and leaving our religion and trying to bring awareness to things that usually people just try to sweep under the rug or try to pretend are not there in our religion, in our culture and in our families.”

Archuleta grew up in the Mormon church before leaving the religion behind in 2022, one year after publicly coming out as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Ngatikaura, 33, for her part, was raised partly in the LDS church but also no longer identifies with the religion. (Ngatikaura’s mom is Mormon, but her dad is not.)

David Archuleta Says He 'Can Do What I Want' After Leaving Mormon Church

“It’s been really good,” Archuleta told Us of connecting with the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives personality. “I feel like we’re having really productive, important conversations, especially for our Utah families.”

The “Dulce Amor” singer also bonded with The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Gay, 51, who also left the Mormon church after her divorce.

“Heather Gay and I have become friends, just because, as I came out,” Archuleta said. “I didn’t watch Housewives, but she kept saying, ‘I’m so happy for you.’ She would comment on, like, every post that I had, and I was like, ‘Let’s invite her to a show.’”

Gay accepted Archuleta’s invitation, attending one of his concerts before returning the favor and gifting him copies of her two memoirs.

“I sent her a book, and she’s just been so supportive the whole time,” Archuleta said on Thursday, referring to his newly released Devout memoir. “It’s just great to find people who are in front of everyone and get what it’s like to be watched, and have everyone involved in your business. It’s been fun.”

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According to Archuleta, he and Gay have even become texting buddies.

“I’m not much of a phone caller, but yeah, we will text each other,” he said. “We’re not the best of friends, but we just are constantly cheering each other on, and I love Heather. She’s the best, she’s great. She is unapologetically herself. Examples like that have been great for me to follow as I’m in this new era of my life.”

Archuleta, for his part, has been forging his own path since walking away from the Mormon church and discovering his sexuality.

“I’m just trying to be passionate about life and encouraging others to do so as well,” he told Us. “I spent a lot of time being afraid to be myself, and afraid of what the world was, and now that I’m, like, ‘You know what? Let’s just celebrate life. We’re here. I’m just so thankful to be here.’”

Archuleta continued, “I’m just hoping to just continue maturing into myself and feeling more confident making music that makes an impact, that helps people feel seen and connected and find community. … It’s like, after you leave church and religion, it’s like, ‘OK, where’s my community that I always had before?’ I don’t have any more, and I feel like I’m in the process of building that community.”

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