diff --git a/core/boot.js b/core/boot.js
index 78183f326e..472f20b35c 100644
--- a/core/boot.js
+++ b/core/boot.js
@@ -183,6 +183,7 @@ async function initDynamicRouting() {
     const routing = require('./frontend/services/routing');
     const routeSettingsService = require('./server/services/route-settings');
     const bridge = require('./bridge');
+    bridge.init();
 
     // We pass the frontend API version + the dynamic routes here, so that the frontend services are slightly less tightly-coupled
     const apiVersion = bridge.getFrontendApiVersion();
diff --git a/core/bridge.js b/core/bridge.js
index 3c9c4add8c..27af4c0d9d 100644
--- a/core/bridge.js
+++ b/core/bridge.js
@@ -27,7 +27,7 @@ const messages = {
 };
 
 class Bridge {
-    constructor() {
+    init() {
         /**
          * When locale changes, we reload theme translations
          * @deprecated: the term "lang" was deprecated in favor of "locale" publicly in 4.0
diff --git a/test/e2e-api/admin/custom_theme_settings.test.js b/test/e2e-api/admin/custom_theme_settings.test.js
index 3049e75e00..e23b09a439 100644
--- a/test/e2e-api/admin/custom_theme_settings.test.js
+++ b/test/e2e-api/admin/custom_theme_settings.test.js
@@ -11,14 +11,14 @@ describe('Custom Theme Settings API', function () {
     before(async function () {
         // NOTE: needs force start to be able to reinitialize Ghost process with frontend services - custom-theme-settings, to be specific
         await localUtils.startGhost({
-            forceStart: true,
-            frontend: true
         });
         request = supertest.agent(config.get('url'));
         await localUtils.doAuth(request, 'users:extra', 'custom_theme_settings');
 
-        // require here so we know it's already been set up with models
+        // require and init here so we know it's already been set up with models
         const customThemeSettingsService = require('../../../core/server/services/custom-theme-settings');
+        await customThemeSettingsService.init();
+
         // fake a theme activation with custom settings - settings match fixtures
         await customThemeSettingsService.api.activateTheme('casper', {
             name: 'casper',