diff --git a/ghost/admin/app/serializers/subscriber.js b/ghost/admin/app/serializers/subscriber.js
index 531c02f84e..a5e8cc868c 100644
--- a/ghost/admin/app/serializers/subscriber.js
+++ b/ghost/admin/app/serializers/subscriber.js
@@ -5,5 +5,16 @@ export default ApplicationSerializer.extend({
         unsubscribedAtUTC: {key: 'unsubscribed_at'},
         createdAtUTC: {key: 'created_at'},
         updatedAtUTC: {key: 'updated_at'}
+    },
+
+    serialize() {
+        let json = this._super(...arguments);
+
+        // the API can't handle `status` being `null`
+        if (!json.status) {
+            delete json.status;
+        }
+
+        return json;
     }
 });