diff --git a/src/interfaces/libpq/fe-connect.c b/src/interfaces/libpq/fe-connect.c
index 4c59ca6834f..6eb64925356 100644
--- a/src/interfaces/libpq/fe-connect.c
+++ b/src/interfaces/libpq/fe-connect.c
@@ -446,7 +446,7 @@ PQconnectStartParams(const char **keywords,
 	{
 		conn->status = CONNECTION_BAD;
 		/* errorMessage is already set */
-		return false;
+		return conn;
 	}
 
 	/*