diff --git a/operator/src/main/resources/application.yml b/operator/src/main/resources/application.yml
index fa71a49..d49f629 100644
--- a/operator/src/main/resources/application.yml
+++ b/operator/src/main/resources/application.yml
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ quarkus:
           - null
         paths:
           - (kind == Deployment).spec.template.spec.imagePullSecrets
-        expression: "{{- toYaml .Values.app.imagePullSecrets | nindent 8 }}"
+        expression: "{{- if eq (toYaml .Values.app.imagePullSecrets | trim) \"- {}\" }} null{{- else }}{{- toYaml .Values.app.imagePullSecrets | nindent 8 }}{{- end }}"
         description: Kubernetes image pull secrets to use if the OCI image is hosted on a private registry
       resource-requests-cpu:
         property: resources.requests.cpu
diff --git a/operator/src/test/java/it/aboutbits/postgresql/helm/HelmTest.java b/operator/src/test/java/it/aboutbits/postgresql/helm/HelmTest.java
index 2dea840..5868d37 100644
--- a/operator/src/test/java/it/aboutbits/postgresql/helm/HelmTest.java
+++ b/operator/src/test/java/it/aboutbits/postgresql/helm/HelmTest.java
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 package it.aboutbits.postgresql.helm;
 
 import io.fabric8.kubernetes.api.model.ConfigBuilder;
-import io.fabric8.kubernetes.api.model.LocalObjectReference;
 import io.fabric8.kubernetes.client.KubernetesClient;
 import io.fabric8.kubernetes.client.utils.Serialization;
 import io.quarkus.test.junit.QuarkusTest;
@@ -173,11 +172,8 @@ void helmInstall_createsDeployment() throws IOException {
 
                     assertThat(deployment.getSpec())
                             .isNotNull()
-                            .satisfies(spec -> assertThat(spec.getTemplate().getSpec().getImagePullSecrets())
-                                    .isNotEmpty()
-                                    .element(0)
-                                    .isNotNull()
-                                    .isEqualTo(new LocalObjectReference(null))
+                            .satisfies(spec ->
+                                    assertThat(spec.getTemplate().getSpec().getImagePullSecrets()).isEmpty()
                             );
 
                     var selector = deployment.getSpec().getSelector();