diff --git a/filefield_widget.inc b/filefield_widget.inc
index b640c0788e0911ffd7a345e174d9299c6a9a208b..49707213b4bf69c75cff881d239492cc94a45140 100644
--- a/filefield_widget.inc
+++ b/filefield_widget.inc
@@ -239,6 +239,7 @@ function filefield_widget_value($element, $edit = FALSE) {
     // If the file entry doesn't exist, don't save anything.
     if (empty($file)) {
       $item = array();
+      $file = array();
     }
 
     // Checkboxes loose their value when empty.