diff --git a/gtk/gtkentrycompletion.c b/gtk/gtkentrycompletion.c
index dbc14f0041..2f4bd28e7c 100644
--- a/gtk/gtkentrycompletion.c
+++ b/gtk/gtkentrycompletion.c
@@ -656,8 +656,7 @@ gtk_entry_completion_set_property (GObject      *object,
         break;
 
       case PROP_TEXT_COLUMN:
-	gtk_entry_completion_set_text_column (completion,
-					      g_value_get_int (value));
+        priv->text_column = g_value_get_int (value);
         break;
 
       case PROP_INLINE_COMPLETION: