diff --git a/tests/phpunit/tests/l10n.php b/tests/phpunit/tests/l10n.php
index 51bb0468d4..b31c165692 100644
--- a/tests/phpunit/tests/l10n.php
+++ b/tests/phpunit/tests/l10n.php
@@ -407,17 +407,12 @@ class Tests_L10n extends WP_UnitTestCase {
 
 		$this->factory()->post->create( $args );
 
-		// Effectively ignore the output until retrieving it later via `getActualOutput()`.
-		$this->expectOutputRegex( '`.`' );
-
 		$expect = 'Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do…';
+		$this->expectOutputRegex( '/' . $expect . '/' );
+
 		wp_dashboard_recent_drafts();
 
-		$actual = $this->getActualOutput();
-
 		restore_previous_locale();
-
-		$this->assertMatchesRegularExpression( '/' . $expect . '/', $actual );
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -436,17 +431,12 @@ class Tests_L10n extends WP_UnitTestCase {
 
 		$post = $this->factory()->post->create( $args );
 
-		// Effectively ignore the output until retrieving it later via `getActualOutput()`.
-		$this->expectOutputRegex( '`.`' );
-
 		$expect = 'Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur …';
+		$this->expectOutputRegex( '/' . $expect . '/' );
+
 		wp_dashboard_recent_drafts();
 
-		$actual = $this->getActualOutput();
-
 		restore_previous_locale();
-
-		$this->assertMatchesRegularExpression( '/' . $expect . '/', $actual );
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -465,17 +455,12 @@ class Tests_L10n extends WP_UnitTestCase {
 
 		$this->factory()->post->create( $args );
 
-		// Effectively ignore the output until retrieving it later via `getActualOutput()`.
-		$this->expectOutputRegex( '`.`' );
-
 		$expect = str_repeat( 'あ', 40 ) . '…';
+		$this->expectOutputRegex( '/' . $expect . '/' );
+
 		wp_dashboard_recent_drafts();
 
-		$actual = $this->getActualOutput();
-
 		restore_previous_locale();
-
-		$this->assertMatchesRegularExpression( '/' . $expect . '/', $actual );
 	}
 
 	/**
diff --git a/tests/phpunit/tests/widgets.php b/tests/phpunit/tests/widgets.php
index 36e9b684f6..7cfce4719b 100644
--- a/tests/phpunit/tests/widgets.php
+++ b/tests/phpunit/tests/widgets.php
@@ -611,8 +611,7 @@ class Tests_Widgets extends WP_UnitTestCase {
 			}
 		);
 
-		// Effectively ignore the output until retrieving it later via `getActualOutput()`.
-		$this->expectOutputRegex( '`.`' );
+		$this->expectOutputRegex( '/Test Title/' );
 
 		$widget->display_callback(
 			array(
@@ -624,11 +623,7 @@ class Tests_Widgets extends WP_UnitTestCase {
 			2
 		);
 
-		$actual = $this->getActualOutput();
-
 		unregister_widget( $widget );
-
-		$this->assertStringContainsString( 'Test Title', $actual );
 	}
 
 	/**