diff --git a/icu4c/source/i18n/plurfmt.cpp b/icu4c/source/i18n/plurfmt.cpp
index 980eb01a76..4424034ac8 100644
--- a/icu4c/source/i18n/plurfmt.cpp
+++ b/icu4c/source/i18n/plurfmt.cpp
@@ -122,6 +122,13 @@ PluralFormat::PluralFormat(const PluralFormat& other)
 void
 PluralFormat::copyObjects(const PluralFormat& other) {
     UErrorCode status = U_ZERO_ERROR;
+    if (numberFormat != NULL) {
+        delete numberFormat;
+    }
+    if (pluralRulesWrapper.pluralRules != NULL) {
+        delete pluralRulesWrapper.pluralRules;
+    }
+
     if (other.numberFormat == NULL) {
         numberFormat = NumberFormat::createInstance(locale, status);
     } else {