diff --git a/spec/schema/ast-validation-modules/ttl.spec.ts b/spec/schema/ast-validation-modules/ttl.spec.ts
index f2309420..54cf69b3 100644
--- a/spec/schema/ast-validation-modules/ttl.spec.ts
+++ b/spec/schema/ast-validation-modules/ttl.spec.ts
@@ -2,8 +2,10 @@ import {
     assertValidatorAcceptsAndDoesNotWarn,
     assertValidatorRejects,
     assertValidatorWarns,
+    validate,
 } from './helpers';
 import gql from 'graphql-tag';
+import { expect } from 'chai';
 
 describe('timeToLive config', () => {
     it('accepts simple case', () => {
@@ -445,4 +447,28 @@ describe('timeToLive config', () => {
             },
         );
     });
+
+    it('does not throw if cascadeFields are referencing relations that are non-object types', () => {
+        // previously, we had a bug where this threw instead of reporting an error
+        // it can quickly happen if there is a syntax error in the file that defines the relation type
+        assertValidatorRejects(
+            gql`
+                type Test @rootEntity {
+                    finishedAt: DateTime
+                    nested: String @relation
+                }
+            `,
+            'Type "String" cannot be used with @relation because it is not a root entity type.',
+            {
+                timeToLive: [
+                    {
+                        typeName: 'Test',
+                        dateField: 'finishedAt',
+                        expireAfterDays: 3,
+                        cascadeFields: ['nested'],
+                    },
+                ],
+            },
+        );
+    });
 });
diff --git a/src/model/implementation/time-to-live.ts b/src/model/implementation/time-to-live.ts
index f4205885..ac4b1ebc 100644
--- a/src/model/implementation/time-to-live.ts
+++ b/src/model/implementation/time-to-live.ts
@@ -133,7 +133,9 @@ export class TimeToLiveType implements ModelComponent {
 
             // only allow cascade on forward relations. See Field#validateRelation() for details.
             if (!field.type.isObjectType) {
-                throw new Error(`Expected ${field.type.name} to be an object type`);
+                // isRelation = true if the type is not an object type is already an error, so we
+                // don't need to report an additional error
+                return;
             }
             const inverseField = field.type.fields.find((f) => f.inverseOf === field);
             if (!inverseField) {