diff --git a/src/wp-includes/class-wp-fatal-error-handler.php b/src/wp-includes/class-wp-fatal-error-handler.php
index 412e1299f4..5a24793124 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/class-wp-fatal-error-handler.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/class-wp-fatal-error-handler.php
@@ -182,7 +182,7 @@ class WP_Fatal_Error_Handler {
 
 		if ( true === $handled && wp_is_recovery_mode() ) {
 			$message = __( 'There has been a critical error on this website, putting it in recovery mode. Please check the Themes and Plugins screens for more details. If you just installed or updated a theme or plugin, check the relevant page for that first.' );
-		} elseif ( is_protected_endpoint() ) {
+		} elseif ( is_protected_endpoint() && wp_recovery_mode()->is_initialized() ) {
 			$message = __( 'There has been a critical error on this website. Please check your site admin email inbox for instructions.' );
 		} else {
 			$message = __( 'There has been a critical error on this website.' );