diff --git a/lib/database.cc b/lib/database.cc
index 6987e2f4..737a3f30 100644
--- a/lib/database.cc
+++ b/lib/database.cc
@@ -1454,7 +1454,9 @@ notmuch_database_remove_message (notmuch_database_t *notmuch,
 							&message);
 
     if (status == NOTMUCH_STATUS_SUCCESS && message) {
-	status = _notmuch_message_remove_filename (message, filename);
+	if (notmuch_message_count_files (message) > 1) {
+	    status = _notmuch_message_remove_filename (message, filename);
+	}
 	if (status == NOTMUCH_STATUS_SUCCESS)
 	    status = _notmuch_message_delete (message);
 	else if (status == NOTMUCH_STATUS_DUPLICATE_MESSAGE_ID)