diff --git a/ooxml/XWPF/Usermodel/XWPFFootnotes.cs b/ooxml/XWPF/Usermodel/XWPFFootnotes.cs
index b4fcc3237..e6dff9bb9 100644
--- a/ooxml/XWPF/Usermodel/XWPFFootnotes.cs
+++ b/ooxml/XWPF/Usermodel/XWPFFootnotes.cs
@@ -235,7 +235,12 @@ public XWPFDocument GetXWPFDocument()
             }
             else
             {
-                return (XWPFDocument)GetParent();
+                var parent = GetParent();
+                while(parent!=null && parent is not XWPFDocument)
+                {
+                    parent=parent.GetParent();
+                }
+                return parent as XWPFDocument;
             }
         }