diff --git a/gtk/gtksearchentry.c b/gtk/gtksearchentry.c
index e9c56c4e04..246d8126e0 100644
--- a/gtk/gtksearchentry.c
+++ b/gtk/gtksearchentry.c
@@ -707,5 +707,5 @@ gtk_search_entry_get_text_widget (GtkSearchEntry *entry)
 {
   GtkSearchEntryPrivate *priv = gtk_search_entry_get_instance_private (entry);
 
-  return priv->entry;
+  return GTK_TEXT (priv->entry);
 }