1 files changed, 8 insertions, 4 deletions
diff --git a/lib/rexml/formatters/default.rb b/lib/rexml/formatters/default.rb
index c375f1468b..811b2ff3d5 100644
--- a/lib/rexml/formatters/default.rb
+++ b/lib/rexml/formatters/default.rb
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 # frozen_string_literal: false
+
 module REXML
   module Formatters
     class Default
@@ -101,11 +102,14 @@ module REXML
       end
 
       def write_instruction( node, output )
-        output << Instruction::START.sub(/\\/u, '')
+        output << Instruction::START
         output << node.target
-        output << ' '
-        output << node.content
-        output << Instruction::STOP.sub(/\\/u, '')
+        content = node.content
+        if content
+          output << ' '
+          output << content
+        end
+        output << Instruction::STOP
       end
     end
   end