diff --git a/src/PhpWord/Writer/HTML/Element/Text.php b/src/PhpWord/Writer/HTML/Element/Text.php
index 5af9f2ab63..34c59bd5a2 100644
--- a/src/PhpWord/Writer/HTML/Element/Text.php
+++ b/src/PhpWord/Writer/HTML/Element/Text.php
@@ -72,7 +72,7 @@ public function write()
         /** @var \PhpOffice\PhpWord\Element\Text $element Type hint */
         $element = $this->element;
 
-        $text = $this->parentWriter->escapeHTML($element->getText());
+        $text = $this->parentWriter->escapeHTML($element->getText() ?? '');
         if (!$this->withoutP && !trim($text)) {
             $text = ' ';
         }