diff --git a/gtk/gtktextlayout.c b/gtk/gtktextlayout.c
index 55a0e1254b..da3a0e8de2 100644
--- a/gtk/gtktextlayout.c
+++ b/gtk/gtktextlayout.c
@@ -1640,7 +1640,7 @@ add_child_attrs (GtkTextLayout      *layout,
   PangoRectangle logical_rect;
   gint width, height;
   GSList *tmp_list;
-  GtkWidget *widget;
+  GtkWidget *widget = NULL;
 
   width = 1;
   height = 1;