diff --git a/internal/controllers/certmanager.go b/internal/controllers/certmanager.go
index 0ed52830e..7f86ce51f 100644
--- a/internal/controllers/certmanager.go
+++ b/internal/controllers/certmanager.go
@@ -137,8 +137,12 @@ func (r *Reconciler) setupTLS(ctx context.Context, cr *model.CryostatInstance) (
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
-		namespaceSecret := secret.DeepCopy()
-		namespaceSecret.Namespace = ns
+		namespaceSecret := &corev1.Secret{
+			ObjectMeta: metav1.ObjectMeta{
+				Name:      secret.Name,
+				Namespace: ns,
+			},
+		}
 		err = r.deleteSecret(ctx, namespaceSecret)
 		if err != nil {
 			return nil, err