diff --git a/plugins/builtin/source/content/welcome_screen.cpp b/plugins/builtin/source/content/welcome_screen.cpp
index 1b7bac7fa..f83403d20 100644
--- a/plugins/builtin/source/content/welcome_screen.cpp
+++ b/plugins/builtin/source/content/welcome_screen.cpp
@@ -468,8 +468,11 @@ namespace hex::plugin::builtin {
             }
         }
 
-        for (const auto &path : ContentRegistry::Settings::read("hex.builtin.setting.imhex", "hex.builtin.setting.imhex.recent_files"))
-            s_recentFilePaths.emplace_back(std::u8string(path.begin(), path.end()));
+        for (const auto &pathString : ContentRegistry::Settings::read("hex.builtin.setting.imhex", "hex.builtin.setting.imhex.recent_files")) {
+            std::fs::path path = std::u8string(pathString.begin(), pathString.end());
+            if (fs::exists(path))
+                s_recentFilePaths.emplace_back(path);
+        }
 
         if (ImHexApi::System::getInitArguments().contains("tip-of-the-day")) {
             s_tipOfTheDay = ImHexApi::System::getInitArguments()["tip-of-the-day"];