diff --git a/bookwyrm/templates/snippets/follow_button.html b/bookwyrm/templates/snippets/follow_button.html
index eddf61cb1..3df85a1a6 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/templates/snippets/follow_button.html
+++ b/bookwyrm/templates/snippets/follow_button.html
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@
         <form action="{% url 'unfollow' %}" method="POST" class="interaction follow-{{ user.id }} {% if not request.user in user.followers.all and not request.user in user.follower_requests.all %}hidden{%endif %}" data-id="follow-{{ user.id }}">
             {% csrf_token %}
             <input type="hidden" name="user" value="{{ user.username }}">
-            {% if user.manually_approves_followers %}
+            {% if user.manually_approves_followers and request.user not in user.followers.all %}
             <button class="button is-small is-danger is-light" type="submit">{% trans "Undo follow request" %}</button>
             {% else %}
             <button class="button is-small is-danger is-light" type="submit">{% trans "Unfollow" %}</button>
diff --git a/bookwyrm/views/follow.py b/bookwyrm/views/follow.py
index 515bf3251..d9f455ebb 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/views/follow.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/views/follow.py
@@ -40,10 +40,22 @@ def unfollow(request):
     except models.User.DoesNotExist:
         return HttpResponseBadRequest()
 
-    models.UserFollows.objects.get(
-        user_subject=request.user, user_object=to_unfollow
-    ).delete()
-    return redirect(to_unfollow.local_path)
+    try:
+        models.UserFollows.objects.get(
+            user_subject=request.user, user_object=to_unfollow
+        ).delete()
+    except models.UserFollows.DoesNotExist:
+        pass
+
+    try:
+        models.UserFollowRequest.objects.get(
+            user_subject=request.user, user_object=to_unfollow
+        ).delete()
+    except models.UserFollowRequest.DoesNotExist:
+        pass
+
+    # this is handled with ajax so it shouldn't really matter
+    return redirect(request.headers.get("Referer", "/"))
 
 
 @login_required