diff --git a/lua/markview/renderers/markdown/tostring.lua b/lua/markview/renderers/markdown/tostring.lua
index b51a6fa..fa9dece 100644
--- a/lua/markview/renderers/markdown/tostring.lua
+++ b/lua/markview/renderers/markdown/tostring.lua
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ md_str.bold = function (match)
 		removed = string.gsub(match, "^%_%_", ""):gsub("%_%_$", "");
 	end
 
-	return removed;
+	return md_str.tostring(md_str.buffer, removed, false);
 
 	---|fE
 end
@@ -192,7 +192,8 @@ md_str.bold_italic = function (match)
 		r = math.min(be and #be or 0, af and #af or 0);
 	end
 
-	return vim.fn.strpart(match, r, vim.fn.strchars(match) - (r + r));
+	local removed = vim.fn.strpart(match, r, vim.fn.strchars(match) - (r + r));
+	return md_str.tostring(md_str.buffer, removed, false);
 
 	---|fE
 end
@@ -339,7 +340,7 @@ md_str.italic = function (match)
 		removed = string.gsub(match, "^%_", ""):gsub("%_$", "");
 	end
 
-	return removed;
+	return md_str.tostring(md_str.buffer, removed, false);
 
 	---|fE
 end
diff --git a/test/tostring_recursion.md b/test/tostring_recursion.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..69d521c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/tostring_recursion.md
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+; Bold/italic wrapping inline elements — tostring recursion
+
+### Bold + link
+
+| Kind | Short | Long |
+|------|-------|------|
+| Bold + link | **[bold link](https://example.com)** | **[bold link with long URL](https://spec.commonmark.org/0.31.2/#emphasis-and-strong-emphasis-combined-with-links-and-images)** |
+| Italic + link | *[italic link](https://example.com)* | *[italic link with long URL](https://spec.commonmark.org/0.31.2/#emphasis-and-strong-emphasis-combined-with-links-and-images)* |
+| Bold-italic + link | ***[both](https://example.com)*** | ***[both with long URL](https://spec.commonmark.org/0.31.2/#emphasis-and-strong-emphasis-combined-with-links-and-images)*** |
+
+### Bold + image
+
+| Kind | Short | Long |
+|------|-------|------|
+| Bold + image | **![icon](https://example.com/i.svg)** | **![a]( https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvim-treesitter/playground/master/assets/screenshot.png)** |
+| Italic + image | *![icon](https://example.com/i.svg)* | *![a](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvim-treesitter/playground/master/assets/screenshot.png)* |
+
+### Bold + code
+
+| Kind | Short | Long |
+|------|-------|------|
+| Bold + code | **`short`** | **`vim.api.nvim_buf_set_extmark(buffer, ns, row, col, opts)`** |
+| Italic + code | *`short`* | *`vim.api.nvim_buf_set_extmark(buffer, ns, row, col, opts)`* |
+
+### Mixed nesting
+
+| Description | Content |
+|-------------|---------|
+| Bold wrapping link + code | **[link](https://example.com) and `code`** |
+| Plain bold (no nesting) | **just bold text** |
+| Plain italic | *just italic text* |
+| No emphasis | [link](https://example.com) then `code` |