diff --git a/src/gui/text/qfontdatabase_qpa.cpp b/src/gui/text/qfontdatabase_qpa.cpp
index 16777d593c..c57fe4b343 100644
--- a/src/gui/text/qfontdatabase_qpa.cpp
+++ b/src/gui/text/qfontdatabase_qpa.cpp
@@ -377,8 +377,12 @@ void QFontDatabase::load(const QFontPrivate *d, int script)
         req.family = *it;
 
         fe = QFontDatabase::findFont(script, d, req, multi);
-        if (fe && (fe->type()==QFontEngine::Box) && !req.family.isEmpty())
+        if (fe && (fe->type()==QFontEngine::Box) && !req.family.isEmpty()) {
+            if (fe->ref.load() == 0)
+                delete fe;
+
             fe = 0;
+        }
     }
 
     if (fe->symbol || (d->request.styleStrategy & QFont::NoFontMerging)) {