diff --git a/src/wp-includes/formatting.php b/src/wp-includes/formatting.php
index 2b32b5aafb..e59bcbc5fe 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/formatting.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/formatting.php
@@ -4052,6 +4052,7 @@ function wp_trim_words( $text, $num_words = 55, $more = null ) {
 	}
 
 	$original_text = $text;
+	$text          = preg_replace( '/<br\b[^>]*\/?>/i', ' ', $text );
 	$text          = wp_strip_all_tags( $text );
 	$num_words     = (int) $num_words;