diff --git a/loader/src/utils/cocos.cpp b/loader/src/utils/cocos.cpp
index d6e4c011..1aa0cb8b 100644
--- a/loader/src/utils/cocos.cpp
+++ b/loader/src/utils/cocos.cpp
@@ -257,6 +257,10 @@ void WeakRefPool::check(CCObject* obj) {
     // if this object's only reference is the WeakRefPool aka only weak 
     // references exist to it, then release it
     if (obj && m_pool.contains(obj) && obj->retainCount() == 1) {
+        // set delegates to null because those aren't retained!
+        if (auto input = typeinfo_cast<CCTextInputNode*>(obj)) {
+            input->m_delegate = nullptr;
+        }
         obj->release();
         // log::info("nullify {}", m_pool.at(obj).get());
         m_pool.at(obj)->m_obj = nullptr;