diff --git a/src/apprt/gtk/ResizeOverlay.zig b/src/apprt/gtk/ResizeOverlay.zig
index 108dcd676..9381414aa 100644
--- a/src/apprt/gtk/ResizeOverlay.zig
+++ b/src/apprt/gtk/ResizeOverlay.zig
@@ -7,9 +7,6 @@ const Surface = @import("Surface.zig");
 
 const log = std.log.scoped(.gtk);
 
-/// Back reference to the surface we belong to
-surface: ?*Surface = null,
-
 /// If non-null this is the widget on the overlay that shows the size of the
 /// surface when it is resized.
 widget: ?*c.GtkWidget = null,
@@ -26,10 +23,8 @@ first: bool = true,
 /// Initialize the ResizeOverlay. This doesn't do anything more than save a
 /// pointer to the surface that we are a part of as all of the widget creation
 /// is done later.
-pub fn init(surface: *Surface) ResizeOverlay {
-    return .{
-        .surface = surface,
-    };
+pub fn init(self: *ResizeOverlay) void {
+    self.* = .{};
 }
 
 /// De-initialize the ResizeOverlay. This removes any pending idlers/timers that
@@ -56,10 +51,7 @@ pub fn deinit(self: *ResizeOverlay) void {
 ///
 /// If we're not configured to show the overlay, do nothing.
 pub fn maybeShow(self: *ResizeOverlay) void {
-    const surface = self.surface orelse {
-        log.err("resize overlay configured without a surface", .{});
-        return;
-    };
+    const surface: *Surface = @alignCast(@fieldParentPtr("resize_overlay", self));
 
     switch (surface.app.config.@"resize-overlay") {
         .never => return,
@@ -84,15 +76,12 @@ pub fn maybeShow(self: *ResizeOverlay) void {
 /// Actually update the overlay widget. This should only be called from a GTK
 /// idle handler.
 fn gtkUpdate(ud: ?*anyopaque) callconv(.C) c.gboolean {
-    const self: *ResizeOverlay = @ptrCast(@alignCast(ud));
+    const self: *ResizeOverlay = @ptrCast(@alignCast(ud orelse return c.FALSE));
 
     // No matter what our idler is complete with this callback
     self.idler = null;
 
-    const surface = self.surface orelse {
-        log.err("resize overlay configured without a surface", .{});
-        return c.FALSE;
-    };
+    const surface: *Surface = @alignCast(@fieldParentPtr("resize_overlay", self));
 
     const grid_size = surface.core_surface.size.grid();
     var buf: [32]u8 = undefined;
diff --git a/src/apprt/gtk/Surface.zig b/src/apprt/gtk/Surface.zig
index 1ca39425b..82ce475a9 100644
--- a/src/apprt/gtk/Surface.zig
+++ b/src/apprt/gtk/Surface.zig
@@ -266,8 +266,8 @@ pub const URLWidget = struct {
         );
 
         // Show it
-        c.gtk_overlay_add_overlay(@ptrCast(surface.overlay), left);
-        c.gtk_overlay_add_overlay(@ptrCast(surface.overlay), right);
+        c.gtk_overlay_add_overlay(surface.overlay, left);
+        c.gtk_overlay_add_overlay(surface.overlay, right);
 
         return .{
             .left = left,
@@ -276,8 +276,8 @@ pub const URLWidget = struct {
     }
 
     pub fn deinit(self: *URLWidget, overlay: *c.GtkOverlay) void {
-        c.gtk_overlay_remove_overlay(@ptrCast(overlay), @ptrCast(self.left));
-        c.gtk_overlay_remove_overlay(@ptrCast(overlay), @ptrCast(self.right));
+        c.gtk_overlay_remove_overlay(overlay, @ptrCast(self.left));
+        c.gtk_overlay_remove_overlay(overlay, @ptrCast(self.right));
     }
 
     pub fn setText(self: *const URLWidget, str: [:0]const u8) void {
@@ -329,7 +329,7 @@ gl_area: *c.GtkGLArea,
 url_widget: ?URLWidget = null,
 
 /// The overlay that shows resizing information.
-resize_overlay: ResizeOverlay = .{},
+resize_overlay: ResizeOverlay = undefined,
 
 /// Whether or not the current surface is zoomed in (see `toggle_split_zoom`).
 zoomed_in: bool = false,
@@ -553,7 +553,7 @@ pub fn init(self: *Surface, app: *App, opts: Options) !void {
         .container = .{ .none = {} },
         .overlay = @ptrCast(overlay),
         .gl_area = @ptrCast(gl_area),
-        .resize_overlay = ResizeOverlay.init(self),
+        .resize_overlay = undefined,
         .title_text = null,
         .core_surface = undefined,
         .font_size = font_size,
@@ -565,6 +565,9 @@ pub fn init(self: *Surface, app: *App, opts: Options) !void {
     };
     errdefer self.* = undefined;
 
+    // initialize the resize overlay
+    self.resize_overlay.init();
+
     // Set our default mouse shape
     try self.setMouseShape(.text);