diff --git a/Library/Homebrew/cmd/unlinkapps.rb b/Library/Homebrew/cmd/unlinkapps.rb
index ba21eed62e..44b8aa06c5 100644
--- a/Library/Homebrew/cmd/unlinkapps.rb
+++ b/Library/Homebrew/cmd/unlinkapps.rb
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ module Homebrew
 
   def unlinkapps_unlink?(target_app, opts = {})
     # Skip non-symlinks and symlinks that don't point into the Homebrew prefix.
-    app = "#{target_app.readlink}" if target_app.symlink?
+    app = target_app.readlink.to_s if target_app.symlink?
     return false unless app && app.start_with?(*UNLINKAPPS_PREFIXES)
 
     if opts.fetch(:prune, false)