diff --git a/marimo/_runtime/reload/autoreload.py b/marimo/_runtime/reload/autoreload.py
index 61a1e4ced31..30965edbae0 100644
--- a/marimo/_runtime/reload/autoreload.py
+++ b/marimo/_runtime/reload/autoreload.py
@@ -57,10 +57,9 @@ class ModuleMTime:
 
 # Compat with cmodules in Python < 3.10
 def safe_getattr(obj: M, attr: str, default: T | None = None) -> T | None:
-    try:
-        return getattr(obj, attr, default)
-    except ModuleNotFoundError:
-        return default
+    if hasattr(obj, attr):
+        return getattr(obj, attr)
+    return default
 
 
 def safe_hasattr(obj: M, attr: str) -> bool: