This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The closest David Archuleta ever came to a tabloid romance rumor involved a girl named Charice.
Three years ago, when the Utah-raised "American Idol" runner-up was at the height of his national fame, rumors swirled that Archuleta was dating Charice Pempengco, a pint-sized Filipino pop singer who that year had a recurring role as exchange student Sunshine Corazon on "Glee."
Archuleta and Charice (who goes by one name professionally) hung out a lot in 2010, and performed a duet of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" on Archuleta's "Christmas From the Heart" album.
Then there was the time Archuleta went to see Charice perform at a New York dance club — and had a small freak-out on Twitter when he realized it was a gay club. (Archuleta then had to backtrack a bit with the "I have friends who are gay" line.)
When the rumors of romance began, Charice politely denied that she was dating Archuleta.
Now, we know she wasn't lying.
In a tearful interview on a Filipino TV show this week, Charice, 21, came out as a lesbian. "I just want to say to all of you that I feel very light — that I can leave the house knowing I am not hiding anything," she said. "I love myself, that's why I'm able to do this."
By the way, Archuleta, 22, is still on his mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, reportedly in Chile.