diff --git a/source/http_stream.c b/source/http_stream.c
index cfd6223eb..6843e0ea8 100644
--- a/source/http_stream.c
+++ b/source/http_stream.c
@@ -204,8 +204,9 @@ static void s_on_stream_complete(struct aws_http_stream *native_stream, int erro
 
     /* DECREF python self, we don't need to force it to stay alive any longer. */
     PyObject *self = aws_py_weakref_get_ref(stream->self_proxy);
+    /* DECREF twice because `aws_py_weakref_get_ref` returns a strong reference */
+    Py_XDECREF(self);
     Py_XDECREF(self);
-    aws_py_weakref_release_ref(self);
 
     PyGILState_Release(state);
     /*************** GIL RELEASE ***************/
diff --git a/source/module.c b/source/module.c
index dc38c30cf..23d77cda9 100644
--- a/source/module.c
+++ b/source/module.c
@@ -525,18 +525,11 @@ PyObject *aws_py_weakref_get_ref(PyObject *object) {
 #else
     /* PyWeakref_GetObject is deprecated since python 3.13 */
     self = PyWeakref_GetObject(object); /* borrowed reference */
+    Py_XINCREF(self);
 #endif
     return self;
 }
 
-void aws_py_weakref_release_ref(PyObject *object) {
-    (void)object;
-    /* Python versions before 3.13 returns a borrowed reference */
-#if PY_VERSION_HEX >= 0x030D0000
-    Py_XDECREF(object);
-#endif
-}
-
 int aws_py_gilstate_ensure(PyGILState_STATE *out_state) {
     if (AWS_LIKELY(Py_IsInitialized())) {
         *out_state = PyGILState_Ensure();
diff --git a/source/module.h b/source/module.h
index b2cfc8a85..7777ab8bc 100644
--- a/source/module.h
+++ b/source/module.h
@@ -107,10 +107,8 @@ PyObject *aws_py_get_error_message(PyObject *self, PyObject *args);
 PyObject *aws_py_memory_view_from_byte_buffer(struct aws_byte_buf *buf);
 
 /* Python 3.13+ changed the function to get a reference from WeakRef. This function is an abstraction over two different
- * APIs since we support Python versions before 3.13.*/
+ * APIs since we support Python versions before 3.13. Returns a strong reference if non-null, which you must release. */
 PyObject *aws_py_weakref_get_ref(PyObject *object);
-/* Release the weakwef provided by the `aws_py_weakref_get_ref`. */
-void aws_py_weakref_release_ref(PyObject *object);
 
 /* Allocator that calls into PyObject_[Malloc|Free|Realloc] */
 struct aws_allocator *aws_py_get_allocator(void);
diff --git a/source/mqtt_client_connection.c b/source/mqtt_client_connection.c
index 668d6eed0..fe629a959 100644
--- a/source/mqtt_client_connection.c
+++ b/source/mqtt_client_connection.c
@@ -151,7 +151,7 @@ static void s_on_connection_success(
         }
     }
 
-    aws_py_weakref_release_ref(self);
+    Py_XDECREF(self);
     PyGILState_Release(state);
 }
 
@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ static void s_on_connection_failure(struct aws_mqtt_client_connection *connectio
         }
     }
 
-    aws_py_weakref_release_ref(self);
+    Py_XDECREF(self);
     PyGILState_Release(state);
 }
 
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ static void s_on_connection_interrupted(struct aws_mqtt_client_connection *conne
         }
     }
 
-    aws_py_weakref_release_ref(self);
+    Py_XDECREF(self);
     PyGILState_Release(state);
 }
 
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ static void s_on_connection_resumed(
             PyErr_WriteUnraisable(PyErr_Occurred());
         }
     }
-    aws_py_weakref_release_ref(self);
+    Py_XDECREF(self);
     PyGILState_Release(state);
 }
 
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ static void s_on_connection_closed(
         }
     }
 
-    aws_py_weakref_release_ref(self);
+    Py_XDECREF(self);
     PyGILState_Release(state);
 }
 
@@ -598,7 +598,7 @@ static void s_ws_handshake_transform(
 done:;
     /* Save off error code, so it doesn't got stomped before we pass it to callback*/
     int error_code = aws_last_error();
-    aws_py_weakref_release_ref(connection_py);
+    Py_XDECREF(connection_py);
 
     if (ws_transform_capsule) {
         Py_DECREF(ws_transform_capsule);