diff --git a/src/shared/node-list-parse.test.ts b/src/shared/node-list-parse.test.ts
index 9437e31118a..29bc910fcc9 100644
--- a/src/shared/node-list-parse.test.ts
+++ b/src/shared/node-list-parse.test.ts
@@ -23,4 +23,26 @@ describe("shared/node-list-parse", () => {
     expect(parsePairingList(undefined)).toEqual({ pending: [], paired: [] });
     expect(parsePairingList(["not-an-object"])).toEqual({ pending: [], paired: [] });
   });
+
+  it("preserves valid pairing arrays when the sibling field is malformed", () => {
+    expect(
+      parsePairingList({
+        pending: [{ requestId: "r1", nodeId: "n1", ts: 1 }],
+        paired: "x",
+      }),
+    ).toEqual({
+      pending: [{ requestId: "r1", nodeId: "n1", ts: 1 }],
+      paired: [],
+    });
+
+    expect(
+      parsePairingList({
+        pending: 1,
+        paired: [{ nodeId: "n1" }],
+      }),
+    ).toEqual({
+      pending: [],
+      paired: [{ nodeId: "n1" }],
+    });
+  });
 });