diff --git a/src/overlay.zig b/src/overlay.zig
index 86e38b9..d271cdd 100644
--- a/src/overlay.zig
+++ b/src/overlay.zig
@@ -303,6 +303,10 @@ fn toHtml(allocator: std.mem.Allocator, text: []const u8) ![]u8 {
                 try out.append(allocator, c);
                 i += 1;
             }
+        } else if (c == '\n') {
+            // Rich text collapses raw newlines — explicit <br> survives.
+            try out.appendSlice(allocator, "<br>");
+            i += 1;
         } else {
             try out.append(allocator, c);
             i += 1;