diff --git a/pkg/gui/controllers/helpers/app_status_helper.go b/pkg/gui/controllers/helpers/app_status_helper.go
index d71faeb65..83500d3a7 100644
--- a/pkg/gui/controllers/helpers/app_status_helper.go
+++ b/pkg/gui/controllers/helpers/app_status_helper.go
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/gocui"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/gui/status"
 	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/gui/types"
+	"github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit/pkg/utils"
 )
 
 type AppStatusHelper struct {
@@ -93,13 +94,24 @@ func (self *AppStatusHelper) renderAppStatus() {
 	self.c.OnWorker(func(_ gocui.Task) error {
 		ticker := time.NewTicker(time.Millisecond * time.Duration(self.c.UserConfig().Gui.Spinner.Rate))
 		defer ticker.Stop()
+		prevAppStatus := ""
 		for range ticker.C {
 			appStatus, color := self.statusMgr().GetStatusString(self.c.UserConfig())
 			self.c.Views().AppStatus.FgColor = color
-			self.c.OnUIThreadContentOnly(func() error {
+
+			update := self.c.OnUIThreadContentOnly
+			if utils.StringWidth(appStatus) != utils.StringWidth(prevAppStatus) {
+				// Need a full layout whenever the width of the status string changes. This can't
+				// happen during normal spinning because we validate that all spinner frames have
+				// the same width, so typically this will only be triggered at the beginning and end
+				// of a status, or if the status string changes midway for some reason.
+				update = self.c.OnUIThread
+			}
+			update(func() error {
 				self.c.SetViewContent(self.c.Views().AppStatus, appStatus)
 				return nil
 			})
+			prevAppStatus = appStatus
 
 			if appStatus == "" {
 				break