diff --git a/src/text.c b/src/text.c
index e30ee203..e8d98657 100644
--- a/src/text.c
+++ b/src/text.c
@@ -846,13 +846,13 @@ ssize_t break_line(const char *line, ssize_t goal
 	|| (newline && *line == '\n')
 #endif
 	)) {
-	line_len = parse_mbchar(line, NULL, NULL);
-
 #ifndef DISABLE_HELP
 	if (newline && *line == '\n')
 	    break;
 #endif
 
+	line_len = parse_mbchar(line, NULL, NULL);
+
 	line += line_len;
 	blank_loc += line_len;
     }