diff --git a/roles/mesh_ingress/templates/ingress.yml.j2 b/roles/mesh_ingress/templates/ingress.yml.j2
index 42b328d74..a8ea57249 100644
--- a/roles/mesh_ingress/templates/ingress.yml.j2
+++ b/roles/mesh_ingress/templates/ingress.yml.j2
@@ -70,7 +70,7 @@ metadata:
   name: {{ ansible_operator_meta.name }}
   namespace: {{ ansible_operator_meta.namespace }}
 spec:
-{% if external_hostname %}
+{% if external_hostname is defined %}
   host: {{ external_hostname }}
 {% endif %}
   port: