diff --git a/src/axolotl/prompt_strategies/chat_template.py b/src/axolotl/prompt_strategies/chat_template.py
index 5b12130d75..27fae31b92 100644
--- a/src/axolotl/prompt_strategies/chat_template.py
+++ b/src/axolotl/prompt_strategies/chat_template.py
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ def messages(self, messages):
     def tokenize_prompt(self, prompt):
         # Old simple legacy behavior that works reliably.
         if (
-            not self.roles_to_train
+            (not self.roles_to_train or self.roles_to_train == ["assistant"])
             and not self.train_on_eos
             and not self.prompter.message_field_training
             and not self.prompter.message_field_training_detail