diff --git a/lib/reline/line_editor.rb b/lib/reline/line_editor.rb
index df4903c9c4..65878fe9f3 100644
--- a/lib/reline/line_editor.rb
+++ b/lib/reline/line_editor.rb
@@ -183,7 +183,7 @@ class Reline::LineEditor
     @cleared = false
     @rerender_all = false
     @history_pointer = nil
-    @kill_ring = Reline::KillRing.new
+    @kill_ring ||= Reline::KillRing.new
     @vi_clipboard = ''
     @vi_arg = nil
     @waiting_proc = nil