diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 80ef55326..5b4f163a0 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ This can also be enabled programmatically with `warnings.simplefilter('default',
 
 ## [2.8.8] - Not released yet
 ### Fixed
+* font state (family, style, size, current font, and the page-level "font is set" flag) no longer leaks back onto the `FPDF` instance after a `text_columns()` / `text_region()` context exits, so a subsequent `pdf.cell()` / `pdf.write()` renders at the caller's font instead of the last paragraph's - _cf._ [issue #1804](https://github.com/py-pdf/fpdf2/issues/1804)
 * text rendering when the first text on a page starts with a fallback glyph - _cf._ [issue #1772](https://github.com/py-pdf/fpdf2/issues/1772)
 * preserve boundary-neutral formatting during bidirectional text preprocessing - _cf._ [issue #1779](https://github.com/py-pdf/fpdf2/issues/1779)
 * transform application on user space gradients - _cf._ [issue #1784](https://github.com/py-pdf/fpdf2/issues/1784)
diff --git a/fpdf/text_region.py b/fpdf/text_region.py
index 0129f7517..7dfa28a49 100644
--- a/fpdf/text_region.py
+++ b/fpdf/text_region.py
@@ -429,7 +429,33 @@ def __exit__(
         self.pdf.clear_text_region()
         self.pdf.page = self._page
         self.pdf._pop_local_stack()  # pyright: ignore[reportPrivateUsage]
-        self.render()
+        # Preserve font state across `render()`. Internally, rendering each
+        # paragraph temporarily adjusts font_size_pt / font_family /
+        # font_style / current_font, but those mutations must not leak back
+        # onto the calling FPDF instance because the caller did not ask to
+        # change fonts. Cursor position and other render-produced state are
+        # intentionally left alone, since subsequent draws rely on them.
+        # Fixes GH issue #1804.
+        saved_font_family = self.pdf.font_family
+        saved_font_style = self.pdf.font_style
+        saved_font_size_pt = self.pdf.font_size_pt
+        saved_current_font = self.pdf.current_font
+        try:
+            self.render()
+        finally:
+            self.pdf.font_family = saved_font_family
+            self.pdf.font_style = saved_font_style
+            self.pdf.font_size_pt = saved_font_size_pt
+            self.pdf.current_font = saved_current_font
+            # `render()` may have emitted `Tf` operators to the page for
+            # paragraph-level fonts. After restoring the Python-side font
+            # attributes, also invalidate `current_font_is_set_on_page` so
+            # the next text operation re-emits a `Tf` for the restored
+            # (outer) font instead of inheriting whatever the last
+            # paragraph wrote to the page. Without this, `pdf.cell()`
+            # after the context silently renders at the inner paragraph's
+            # font size even though `pdf.font_size_pt` reads correctly.
+            self.pdf.current_font_is_set_on_page = False
 
     def _check_paragraph(self) -> None:
         if self._active_paragraph == "EXPLICIT":
diff --git a/test/text_region/tcols_balance.pdf b/test/text_region/tcols_balance.pdf
index c2e6a1c31..8b738091f 100644
Binary files a/test/text_region/tcols_balance.pdf and b/test/text_region/tcols_balance.pdf differ
diff --git a/test/text_region/test_text_columns.py b/test/text_region/test_text_columns.py
index ef72d6ef8..1f4ad4c5a 100644
--- a/test/text_region/test_text_columns.py
+++ b/test/text_region/test_text_columns.py
@@ -391,3 +391,55 @@ def test_text_columns_with_shorter_2nd_column(tmp_path):  # issue 1442
     pdf.write(text="More text after columns.")
     pdf.ln()
     assert_pdf_equal(pdf, HERE / "text_columns_with_shorter_2nd_column.pdf", tmp_path)
+
+
+def test_tcols_font_size_does_not_leak():
+    """Regression test for issue #1804.
+
+    When a text_columns() block is the first text rendered on a page and
+    the paragraphs inside it change the font size, the caller's
+    font_size_pt should be unchanged after the context manager exits.
+    """
+    pdf = FPDF()
+    pdf.add_page()
+    pdf.set_font("Helvetica", size=12)
+    size_before = pdf.font_size_pt
+
+    cols = pdf.text_columns()
+    with cols:
+        pdf.set_font("Helvetica", size=24)
+        with cols.paragraph() as p:
+            p.write("Large heading")
+        pdf.set_font("Helvetica", size=10)
+        with cols.paragraph() as p:
+            p.write("Small body text")
+
+    assert pdf.font_size_pt == size_before
+
+
+def test_text_columns_restore_page_font_after_context(tmp_path):
+    """Second-layer regression test for issue #1804.
+
+    Even with the Python-side font_size_pt restored, the PDF content stream
+    must also re-emit a `Tf` operator for the restored font on the next
+    text operation. Otherwise the page state still carries the last
+    paragraph's font selection and a following `pdf.cell()` silently
+    renders at the wrong size. This test exercises the full render path
+    rather than just the attribute, so the assertion is on the output PDF.
+    """
+    pdf = FPDF()
+    pdf.add_page()
+    pdf.set_font("Helvetica", size=12)
+
+    with pdf.text_columns() as cols:
+        pdf.set_font("Helvetica", size=24)
+        cols.write("Large heading")
+        pdf.set_font("Helvetica", size=10)
+        cols.write("Small body text")
+
+    pdf.cell(text="after columns")
+    assert_pdf_equal(
+        pdf,
+        HERE / "text_columns_restore_page_font_after_context.pdf",
+        tmp_path,
+    )
diff --git a/test/text_region/text_columns_restore_page_font_after_context.pdf b/test/text_region/text_columns_restore_page_font_after_context.pdf
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0c35f1609
Binary files /dev/null and b/test/text_region/text_columns_restore_page_font_after_context.pdf differ
diff --git a/test/text_region/text_columns_with_shorter_2nd_column.pdf b/test/text_region/text_columns_with_shorter_2nd_column.pdf
index ab538789e..b09daf02b 100644
Binary files a/test/text_region/text_columns_with_shorter_2nd_column.pdf and b/test/text_region/text_columns_with_shorter_2nd_column.pdf differ