diff --git a/src/core/wee-string.c b/src/core/wee-string.c
index 24224ccf8..a4c29c923 100644
--- a/src/core/wee-string.c
+++ b/src/core/wee-string.c
@@ -766,7 +766,7 @@ string_has_highlight_regex (const char *string, const char *regex)
     regex_t reg;
     int rc;
     
-    if (!string || !regex)
+    if (!string || !regex || !regex[0])
         return 0;
     
     if (regcomp (&reg, regex, REG_EXTENDED) != 0)