diff --git a/codex-rs/tui/src/markdown_render.rs b/codex-rs/tui/src/markdown_render.rs
index ee8af31a32..b73bb670a5 100644
--- a/codex-rs/tui/src/markdown_render.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/tui/src/markdown_render.rs
@@ -1308,10 +1308,9 @@ where
         // Keep common intro + html-block spillover together:
         // "HTML block:" followed by "<div ...>".
         first_text.trim_end().ends_with(':')
-            && (next_row
+            && next_row
                 .and_then(|row| Self::first_non_empty_only_text(row))
                 .is_some_and(|text| Self::looks_like_html_content(&text))
-                || Self::looks_like_label_line(&first_text))
     }
 
     fn first_non_empty_only_text(row: &[TableCell]) -> Option<String> {
@@ -1329,10 +1328,6 @@ where
         text.contains('<') && text.contains('>')
     }
 
-    fn looks_like_label_line(text: &str) -> bool {
-        text.trim_end().ends_with(':') && text.split_whitespace().count() <= 3
-    }
-
     fn spans_display_width(spans: &[Span<'_>]) -> usize {
         spans.iter().map(|span| span.content.width()).sum()
     }
diff --git a/codex-rs/tui/src/markdown_render_tests.rs b/codex-rs/tui/src/markdown_render_tests.rs
index ebfedff446..ef7eb505a0 100644
--- a/codex-rs/tui/src/markdown_render_tests.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/tui/src/markdown_render_tests.rs
@@ -1505,6 +1505,28 @@ fn table_keeps_sparse_sentence_row_inside_grid() {
     );
 }
 
+#[test]
+fn table_keeps_label_only_sparse_row_inside_grid() {
+    let md = "| A | B | C |\n|---|---|---|\n| Status: | | |\n| ok | | |\n";
+    let text = render_markdown_text(md);
+    let lines: Vec<String> = text
+        .lines
+        .iter()
+        .map(|line| line.spans.iter().map(|span| span.content.clone()).collect())
+        .collect();
+
+    assert!(
+        lines
+            .iter()
+            .any(|line| line.contains("│ Status:") && line.ends_with('│')),
+        "expected label-only sparse row to remain inside table grid: {lines:?}"
+    );
+    assert!(
+        !lines.iter().any(|line| line.trim() == "Status:"),
+        "did not expect label-only sparse row to spill outside table: {lines:?}"
+    );
+}
+
 #[test]
 fn table_preserves_structured_leading_columns_when_last_column_is_long() {
     let md = "| Milestone | Planned Date | Outcome | Retrospective Summary |\n|---|---|---|---|\n| Canary rollout | 2026-01-10 | Completed | Canary
diff --git a/codex-rs/tui/src/snapshots/codex_tui__markdown_render__markdown_render_tests__markdown_render_complex_snapshot.snap b/codex-rs/tui/src/snapshots/codex_tui__markdown_render__markdown_render_tests__markdown_render_complex_snapshot.snap
index 34cbd1c63e..818c76e496 100644
--- a/codex-rs/tui/src/snapshots/codex_tui__markdown_render__markdown_render_tests__markdown_render_complex_snapshot.snap
+++ b/codex-rs/tui/src/snapshots/codex_tui__markdown_render__markdown_render_tests__markdown_render_complex_snapshot.snap
@@ -29,13 +29,13 @@ Image: alt text
 
 Table below (alignment test):
 
-┌──────┬────────┬───────┐
-│ Left │ Center │ Right │
-├──────┼────────┼───────┤
-│ a    │   b    │     c │
-└──────┴────────┴───────┘
+┌─────────────┬────────┬───────┐
+│ Left        │ Center │ Right │
+├─────────────┼────────┼───────┤
+│ a           │   b    │     c │
+│ HTML block: │        │       │
+└─────────────┴────────┴───────┘
 Inline HTML: <sup>sup</sup> and <sub>sub</sub>.
-HTML block:
 <div style="border:1px solid #ccc;padding:2px">inline block</div>
 Escapes: \_underscores\_, backslash \\, ticks ``code with `backtick` inside``.
 Emoji shortcodes: :sparkles: :tada: (if supported).
diff --git a/codex-rs/tui/src/streaming/controller.rs b/codex-rs/tui/src/streaming/controller.rs
index 592d44a23e..4d734feaec 100644
--- a/codex-rs/tui/src/streaming/controller.rs
+++ b/codex-rs/tui/src/streaming/controller.rs
@@ -585,6 +585,7 @@ fn is_markdown_fence(trimmed_line: &str, marker_len: usize) -> bool {
 fn parse_lines_with_fence_state(source: &str) -> Vec<ParsedLine<'_>> {
     let mut in_fence = false;
     let mut fence_char = '\0';
+    let mut fence_len = 0usize;
     let mut fence_context = FenceContext::Other;
     let mut lines = Vec::new();
 
@@ -603,13 +604,15 @@ fn parse_lines_with_fence_state(source: &str) -> Vec<ParsedLine<'_>> {
             if !in_fence {
                 in_fence = true;
                 fence_char = marker;
+                fence_len = len;
                 fence_context = if is_markdown_fence(trimmed, len) {
                     FenceContext::Markdown
                 } else {
                     FenceContext::Other
                 };
-            } else if marker == fence_char && len >= 3 {
+            } else if marker == fence_char && len >= fence_len && trimmed[len..].trim().is_empty() {
                 in_fence = false;
+                fence_len = 0;
                 fence_context = FenceContext::Other;
             }
         }
@@ -1347,6 +1350,15 @@ mod tests {
         ));
     }
 
+    #[test]
+    fn table_holdback_state_ignores_table_like_lines_inside_unclosed_long_fence() {
+        let source = "````sh\n```cmd\n| Key | Description |\n| --- | --- |\n````\n";
+        assert!(
+            matches!(table_holdback_state(source), TableHoldbackState::None),
+            "table holdback should ignore pipe lines inside an open non-markdown fence",
+        );
+    }
+
     // -----------------------------------------------------------------------
     // source_bytes_for_rendered_count — prefix-stability tests
     // -----------------------------------------------------------------------