diff --git a/httpie/compat.py b/httpie/compat.py
index d12abcff02..5162b359ba 100644
--- a/httpie/compat.py
+++ b/httpie/compat.py
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
+import os
 import sys
 from ssl import SSLContext
 from typing import Any, Optional, Iterable
 
+from requests.adapters import DEFAULT_CA_BUNDLE_PATH
+
 from httpie.cookies import HTTPieCookiePolicy
 from http import cookiejar  # noqa
 
@@ -103,11 +106,26 @@ def get_dist_name(entry_point: importlib_metadata.EntryPoint) -> Optional[str]:
 
 def ensure_default_certs_loaded(ssl_context: SSLContext) -> None:
     """
-    Workaround for a bug in Requests 2.32.3
+    Load the default CA certificates into the given SSL context.
+
+    Because we always use our own SSL context (to be able to support
+    `--ssl` and `--ciphers`), Requests doesn’t load any CA bundle for us
+    when `--verify=yes` — it assumes a custom context already trusts the
+    default CAs. See <https://github.com/httpie/cli/issues/1583>.
 
-    See <https://github.com/httpie/cli/issues/1583>
+    `SSLContext.load_default_certs()` relies on OpenSSL’s default verify
+    paths, which are empty on some platforms (most notably the python.org
+    macOS builds). In that case we fall back to the `certifi` bundle, which
+    is exactly what Requests itself trusts by default — otherwise HTTPie
+    would end up with an empty trust store and fail to verify any
+    certificate. See <https://github.com/httpie/cli/issues/1632>.
 
     """
-    if hasattr(ssl_context, 'load_default_certs'):
-        if not ssl_context.get_ca_certs():
-            ssl_context.load_default_certs()
+    if not hasattr(ssl_context, 'load_default_certs'):
+        return
+
+    if not ssl_context.get_ca_certs():
+        ssl_context.load_default_certs()
+
+    if not ssl_context.get_ca_certs() and os.path.exists(DEFAULT_CA_BUNDLE_PATH):
+        ssl_context.load_verify_locations(cafile=DEFAULT_CA_BUNDLE_PATH)
diff --git a/tests/test_compat.py b/tests/test_compat.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..37673ebb6a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_compat.py
@@ -0,0 +1,62 @@
+import os
+import ssl
+
+from unittest import mock
+
+from requests.adapters import DEFAULT_CA_BUNDLE_PATH
+
+from httpie.compat import ensure_default_certs_loaded
+
+
+def _empty_trust_store_env(tmp_path):
+    """Point OpenSSL’s default verify paths at an empty location.
+
+    This emulates the python.org macOS builds, where the OS trust store is
+    not reachable through OpenSSL’s defaults.
+    """
+    return {
+        'SSL_CERT_FILE': str(tmp_path / '__no_such_ca_bundle__.pem'),
+        'SSL_CERT_DIR': str(tmp_path),
+    }
+
+
+def test_ensure_default_certs_loaded_from_os_trust_store():
+    ssl_context = ssl.SSLContext(ssl.PROTOCOL_TLS_CLIENT)
+    ensure_default_certs_loaded(ssl_context)
+    assert ssl_context.get_ca_certs()
+
+
+def test_ensure_default_certs_loaded_falls_back_to_certifi(tmp_path):
+    """<https://github.com/httpie/cli/issues/1632>"""
+    ssl_context = ssl.SSLContext(ssl.PROTOCOL_TLS_CLIENT)
+    with mock.patch.dict(os.environ, _empty_trust_store_env(tmp_path)):
+        ssl_context.load_default_certs()
+        assert not ssl_context.get_ca_certs(), (
+            'precondition: the OS trust store must be empty for this test'
+        )
+        ensure_default_certs_loaded(ssl_context)
+    assert ssl_context.get_ca_certs(), (
+        'the certifi bundle should have been loaded as a fallback'
+    )
+
+
+def test_ensure_default_certs_loaded_keeps_already_loaded_certs():
+    ssl_context = ssl.SSLContext(ssl.PROTOCOL_TLS_CLIENT)
+    ssl_context.load_verify_locations(cafile=DEFAULT_CA_BUNDLE_PATH)
+    already_loaded = ssl_context.get_ca_certs()
+    with mock.patch.object(ssl_context, 'load_default_certs') as load_default_certs:
+        ensure_default_certs_loaded(ssl_context)
+        load_default_certs.assert_not_called()
+    assert ssl_context.get_ca_certs() == already_loaded
+
+
+def test_ensure_default_certs_loaded_without_any_bundle_available(tmp_path):
+    """A missing certifi bundle must not turn into a hard error."""
+    ssl_context = ssl.SSLContext(ssl.PROTOCOL_TLS_CLIENT)
+    with mock.patch.dict(os.environ, _empty_trust_store_env(tmp_path)), \
+            mock.patch(
+                'httpie.compat.DEFAULT_CA_BUNDLE_PATH',
+                str(tmp_path / '__no_such_certifi_bundle__.pem'),
+            ):
+        ensure_default_certs_loaded(ssl_context)
+    assert not ssl_context.get_ca_certs()