Woman’s Parents Came Out After Dad's Affair. Now They're All Friends and Ready to Tell Their 'Crazy' Story (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

From left: Haley Archuleta, Mike Archuleta and Heather Archuleta.Photo:Courtesy of Haley Archuleta

Courtesy of Haley Archuleta

Haley Archuleta wasn’t expecting herTikTokto “blow up” when she opened up about her family’s story. But it did.

In the July video, which has received more than 6 million views and 723,000 likes as of Saturday, Sept. 21, the content creator shared the unexpected way her parents both came out as members of the LGBTQ+ community. She also mentioned that her dad had an affair while married to her mom, who, as fate would have it, ended up forming a lasting friendship with his male ex.

“I’m proud of my family,” Haley, 27, tells PEOPLE of their unique story, “so I didn’t really see any shame behind sharing it.”

Haley, who is also gay, says parents Heather and Mike Archuleta were high school sweethearts from Utah. They married in 1990 but, a few years later, she says that her dad began having an affair with Jake Rosquist, whom he met at a gay bar in Salt Lake City.

Rosquist, who tells PEOPLE he and Mike are now just friends, says that he used to be religious and that the pair would pray together to figure out what to do about their relationship. “My philosophy was if he’s gay, [Mike] shouldn’t be married,” he says. “So I told him to tell Heather.”

Heather, 53, says she was pregnant with Haley’s older brother, Holden, when she learned of the affair. According to Rosquist, 56, Heather found out when she caught him and Mike together on the phone.

But while Mike, 54, was secretly spending time with a man, his stepmom — Haley’s stepgrandmother — was having her own clandestine relationship with a woman who, in another twist to the saga, was Rosquist’s roommate at the time.

Amid the drama, Haley says a friendship was unexpectedly struck up between her mom and Rosquist at a holiday event.

In 1992, Rosquist and his then-partner — Rosquist and Mike had stopped seeing each other after Rosquist learned Heather was pregnant with Haley’s brother — were invited to an annual family Christmas party at Mike’s stepmother’s home, because of Rosquist’s relationship with her through the roommate.

But Heather, who was 21 at the time, also says it was inevitable that they would run into each other at some point.

From left: Heather Archuleta, Haley Archuleta, Jake Rosquist and London Chandler.Courtesy of Haley Archuleta

That’s when a funny thing happened: They hit it off and became fast friends — and have been ever since. As a testament to their closeness, Haley says she calls Rosquist her “guncle,” an affectionate term to refer to a gay uncle as a reflection of his bond with her mom.

As time went on and Rosquist and Heather began to spend time together, including at gay bars, she eventually ended up coming out, too. And after she began a relationship with a woman she ended up meeting through friends, she says she “never dated guys again” — and today, she’s been with her partner, Jamie, for eight years.

From left: Haley Archuleta, Mike Archuleta.Courtesy of Haley Archuleta

But even after Haley’s mom hit it off with Rosquist, the path to healing for Haley’s parents took years.

When Haley was 5, Heather says she and Mike divorced, which he felt devastated about. “He did not want to get divorced,” she says. “He didn’t want to break up his family.”

“We tried it for a little bit,” Mike tells PEOPLE in a separate interview, but adds that they “both knew” there was no going back.

Today, Mike, who has been married for five years to a man named Jake — “I know, ironic,” he quips — says that he and Heather have a “pretty amicable relationship.”

“I always try to make sure that we can all be together so that we can experience life with our kids together,” adds the dad, who works in the heating and air business.

And despite their history, he says he and Rosquist are friends, too.

My Extraordinary Familyis PEOPLE’s new series that explores fascinating families in all their forms. If you have a sweet story the world needs to know, send the details tolove@people.com.

Rosquist tells PEOPLE that while he is not proud of his affair with Mike, he doesn’t “regret it because somehow Heather and I were supposed to meet.”

Mike also admits he could have done things differently but that he’s glad he was able to put himself on a path to “help find myself a life that I needed” and was able to “finally” be “true to myself.”

From left: Jake Crane, Haley Archuleta and Mike Archuleta.Courtesy of Haley Archuleta

Haley tells PEOPLE that Utah was a difficult place to grow up, with both of her parents being open about their sexuality.

Haley, who now lives with her girlfriend, London, in Florida, says she tried to “push being a lesbian away” and that she had a hard time coming out to her mom and dad because she didn’t want people to think, ‘Oh, she’s just gay because her parents are gay.’ "

But now she says she knows that “I was born this way.”

From left: London Chandler, Haley Archuleta.Courtesy of Haley Archuleta

Haley says she feels her family story is something that “people can relate to” or can at least help open people’s minds. “I currently have four parents that I love,” she says — and she says her stepgrandma, who is still alive, has found happiness with her own long-term partner.

“I just feel like everything’s kind of an invisible string, and it’s kind of hard to grasp,” Haley says. “It took years of processing it for me to be able to tell this story, but it’s so crazy.”

“I was very surprised,” Heather says. “We always said when all this first happened, probably five, 10 years after all this, we’re like, ‘You know what? We could be onOprah.’ "

source: people.com