diff --git a/include/sol/optional_implementation.hpp b/include/sol/optional_implementation.hpp
index 26f41d0c..e22226d6 100644
--- a/include/sol/optional_implementation.hpp
+++ b/include/sol/optional_implementation.hpp
@@ -2191,7 +2191,8 @@ namespace sol {
 			static_assert(std::is_constructible<T, Args&&...>::value, "T must be constructible with Args");
 
 			*this = nullopt;
-			this->construct(std::forward<Args>(args)...);
+			new (static_cast<void*>(this)) optional(std::in_place, std::forward<Args>(args)...);
+			return **this;
 		}
 
 		/// Swaps this optional with the other.