diff --git a/src/utils/helpers.test.ts b/src/utils/helpers.test.ts
index a55a4f25c..e989213a7 100644
--- a/src/utils/helpers.test.ts
+++ b/src/utils/helpers.test.ts
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import {
 import * as apiRequests from './api/request';
 import {
   formatForDisplay,
+  formatNotificationUpdatedAt,
   generateGitHubWebUrl,
   generateNotificationReferrerId,
   isEnterpriseHost,
@@ -534,5 +535,47 @@ describe('utils/helpers.ts', () => {
         'Not Planned Issue',
       );
     });
+
+    describe('formatNotificationUpdatedAt', () => {
+      it('should use last_read_at if available', () => {
+        const notification = {
+          ...mockSingleNotification,
+          last_read_at: '2021-06-23T16:00:00Z',
+          updated_at: '2021-06-23T17:00:00Z',
+        };
+
+        expect(formatNotificationUpdatedAt(notification)).toContain('ago');
+      });
+
+      it('should use updated_at if last_read_at is null', () => {
+        const notification = {
+          ...mockSingleNotification,
+          last_read_at: null,
+          updated_at: '2021-06-23T17:00:00Z',
+        };
+
+        expect(formatNotificationUpdatedAt(notification)).toContain('ago');
+      });
+
+      it('should return empty if all dates are null', () => {
+        const notification = {
+          ...mockSingleNotification,
+          last_read_at: null,
+          updated_at: null,
+        };
+
+        expect(formatNotificationUpdatedAt(notification)).toBe('');
+      });
+
+      it('should return empty if unable to parse dates', () => {
+        const notification = {
+          ...mockSingleNotification,
+          last_read_at: 'not an iso date',
+          updated_at: 'not an iso date',
+        };
+
+        expect(formatNotificationUpdatedAt(notification)).toBe('');
+      });
+    });
   });
 });
diff --git a/src/utils/helpers.ts b/src/utils/helpers.ts
index 310213a87..4548c02f7 100644
--- a/src/utils/helpers.ts
+++ b/src/utils/helpers.ts
@@ -174,9 +174,13 @@ export function formatNotificationUpdatedAt(
 ): string {
   const date = notification.last_read_at ?? notification.updated_at;
 
-  return formatDistanceToNow(parseISO(date), {
-    addSuffix: true,
-  });
+  try {
+    return formatDistanceToNow(parseISO(date), {
+      addSuffix: true,
+    });
+  } catch (e) {}
+
+  return '';
 }
 
 export async function openInBrowser(