diff --git a/esphome/core/helpers.h b/esphome/core/helpers.h
index 32e8cc6fa1c..9bbc771fb8d 100644
--- a/esphome/core/helpers.h
+++ b/esphome/core/helpers.h
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@
 #include <concepts>
 
 #include "esphome/core/optional.h"
+#include "esphome/core/string_ref.h"
 
 #ifdef USE_ESP8266
 #include <Esp.h>
@@ -47,9 +48,6 @@
 
 namespace esphome {
 
-// Forward declaration to avoid circular dependency with string_ref.h
-class StringRef;
-
 /// @name STL backports
 ///@{