diff --git a/projects/igniteui-angular/src/lib/directives/text-highlight/text-highlight.directive.spec.ts b/projects/igniteui-angular/src/lib/directives/text-highlight/text-highlight.directive.spec.ts
index faa0a923117..e7d4e83c4a6 100644
--- a/projects/igniteui-angular/src/lib/directives/text-highlight/text-highlight.directive.spec.ts
+++ b/projects/igniteui-angular/src/lib/directives/text-highlight/text-highlight.directive.spec.ts
@@ -308,6 +308,24 @@ describe('IgxHighlight', () => {
 
         expect(() => component.highlight.activateIfNecessary()).not.toThrowError();
     });
+
+    it('Should not throw error when destroyed before ngAfterViewInit completes', () => {
+        const fix = TestBed.createComponent(HighlightLoremIpsumComponent);
+        // Do not call detectChanges() - this simulates destruction before ngAfterViewInit
+        
+        // Destroy the component before initialization completes
+        expect(() => fix.destroy()).not.toThrowError();
+    });
+
+    it('Should return 0 when highlight is called before ngAfterViewInit completes', () => {
+        const fix = TestBed.createComponent(HighlightLoremIpsumComponent);
+        const component: HighlightLoremIpsumComponent = fix.debugElement.componentInstance;
+        
+        // Call highlight before detectChanges (before ngAfterViewInit)
+        const count = component.highlight.highlight('test', false, false);
+        
+        expect(count).toBe(0);
+    });
 });
 
 @Component({
diff --git a/projects/igniteui-angular/src/lib/directives/text-highlight/text-highlight.directive.ts b/projects/igniteui-angular/src/lib/directives/text-highlight/text-highlight.directive.ts
index 5a7a1794f7e..5809d191100 100644
--- a/projects/igniteui-angular/src/lib/directives/text-highlight/text-highlight.directive.ts
+++ b/projects/igniteui-angular/src/lib/directives/text-highlight/text-highlight.directive.ts
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ export class IgxTextHighlightDirective implements AfterViewInit, AfterViewChecke
      * @hidden
      */
     public ngAfterViewChecked() {
-        if (this._valueChanged) {
+        if (this._valueChanged && this._lastSearchInfo) {
             this.highlight(this._lastSearchInfo.searchText, this._lastSearchInfo.caseSensitive, this._lastSearchInfo.exactMatch);
             this.activateIfNecessary();
             this._valueChanged = false;
@@ -278,6 +278,10 @@ export class IgxTextHighlightDirective implements AfterViewInit, AfterViewChecke
      * Returns how many times the element contains the searched text.
      */
     public highlight(text: string, caseSensitive?: boolean, exactMatch?: boolean): number {
+        if (!this._lastSearchInfo) {
+            return 0;
+        }
+
         const caseSensitiveResolved = caseSensitive ? true : false;
         const exactMatchResolved = exactMatch ? true : false;
 
@@ -308,8 +312,10 @@ export class IgxTextHighlightDirective implements AfterViewInit, AfterViewChecke
     public clearHighlight(): void {
         this.clearChildElements(false);
 
-        this._lastSearchInfo.searchText = '';
-        this._lastSearchInfo.matchCount = 0;
+        if (this._lastSearchInfo) {
+            this._lastSearchInfo.searchText = '';
+            this._lastSearchInfo.matchCount = 0;
+        }
     }
 
     /**
@@ -469,6 +475,10 @@ export class IgxTextHighlightDirective implements AfterViewInit, AfterViewChecke
     }
 
     private searchNeedsEvaluation(text: string, caseSensitive: boolean, exactMatch: boolean): boolean {
+        if (!this._lastSearchInfo) {
+            return false;
+        }
+
         const searchedText = this._lastSearchInfo.searchText;
 
         return !this._nodeWasRemoved &&