diff --git a/QuickMD/QuickMD/MarkdownBlockParser.swift b/QuickMD/QuickMD/MarkdownBlockParser.swift
index 2226306..063b490 100644
--- a/QuickMD/QuickMD/MarkdownBlockParser.swift
+++ b/QuickMD/QuickMD/MarkdownBlockParser.swift
@@ -239,9 +239,12 @@ struct MarkdownBlockParser: Sendable {
                 if !isTableSeparator(trimmed) && i + 1 < lines.count && isTableSeparator(lines[i + 1]) {
                     flushTextBuffer(&textBuffer, to: &blocks, index: &blockIndex, using: activeRenderer)
 
-                    let headers = parseTableRow(line)
-                    let columnCount = headers.count
                     var alignments = parseTableAlignments(lines[i + 1])
+                    // The separator row is authoritative for column count: a header row
+                    // of entirely empty cells (`| | |`, a headerless table) parses to zero
+                    // cells, which would otherwise collapse the whole table to nothing.
+                    var headers = parseTableRow(line)
+                    let columnCount = max(headers.count, alignments.count)
                     var rows: [[String]] = []
                     i += 2 // Skip header and separator
 
@@ -250,7 +253,8 @@ struct MarkdownBlockParser: Sendable {
                         i += 1
                     }
 
-                    // Normalize: ensure all rows and alignments match column count
+                    // Normalize: ensure headers, rows, and alignments match column count
+                    headers = normalizeArray(headers, to: columnCount, default: "")
                     alignments = normalizeArray(alignments, to: columnCount, default: .leading)
                     rows = rows.map { normalizeArray($0, to: columnCount, default: "") }
 
diff --git a/QuickMD/QuickMD/MarkdownExport.swift b/QuickMD/QuickMD/MarkdownExport.swift
index 52fccf2..e891528 100644
--- a/QuickMD/QuickMD/MarkdownExport.swift
+++ b/QuickMD/QuickMD/MarkdownExport.swift
@@ -147,36 +147,42 @@ struct PrintableTableView: View, TableAlignmentProvider {
     /// Stored column count - computed once on init for efficiency
     private let columnCount: Int
 
+    /// Headerless tables (`| | |`) skip the header band entirely
+    private let showsHeader: Bool
+
     init(headers: [String], rows: [[String]], alignments: [TextAlignment]) {
         self.headers = headers
         self.rows = rows
         self.alignments = alignments
         self.renderer = MarkdownRenderer(colorScheme: .light)
-        self.columnCount = headers.count
+        self.columnCount = max(headers.count, alignments.count, rows.map(\.count).max() ?? 0)
+        self.showsHeader = headers.contains { !$0.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespaces).isEmpty }
     }
 
     var body: some View {
         VStack(spacing: 0) {
-            // Header row
-            HStack(spacing: 0) {
-                ForEach(0..<columnCount, id: \.self) { index in
-                    Text(renderer.renderInline(headers[index]))
-                        .font(.system(size: 12, weight: .semibold))
-                        .foregroundColor(.black)
-                        .multilineTextAlignment(textAlignmentFor(index))
-                        .frame(maxWidth: .infinity, alignment: alignmentFor(index))
-                        .padding(.horizontal, 8)
-                        .padding(.vertical, 6)
+            if showsHeader {
+                // Header row
+                HStack(spacing: 0) {
+                    ForEach(0..<columnCount, id: \.self) { index in
+                        Text(renderer.renderInline(index < headers.count ? headers[index] : ""))
+                            .font(.system(size: 12, weight: .semibold))
+                            .foregroundColor(.black)
+                            .multilineTextAlignment(textAlignmentFor(index))
+                            .frame(maxWidth: .infinity, alignment: alignmentFor(index))
+                            .padding(.horizontal, 8)
+                            .padding(.vertical, 6)
 
-                    if index < columnCount - 1 {
-                        Rectangle().fill(theme.borderColor).frame(width: 1)
+                        if index < columnCount - 1 {
+                            Rectangle().fill(theme.borderColor).frame(width: 1)
+                        }
                     }
                 }
-            }
-            .background(theme.headerBackgroundColor)
+                .background(theme.headerBackgroundColor)
 
-            // Header separator
-            Rectangle().fill(theme.borderColor).frame(height: 1)
+                // Header separator
+                Rectangle().fill(theme.borderColor).frame(height: 1)
+            }
 
             // Data rows
             ForEach(Array(rows.enumerated()), id: \.offset) { rowIndex, row in
diff --git a/QuickMD/QuickMD/Views/TableBlockView.swift b/QuickMD/QuickMD/Views/TableBlockView.swift
index a8b8c7d..b6f5727 100644
--- a/QuickMD/QuickMD/Views/TableBlockView.swift
+++ b/QuickMD/QuickMD/Views/TableBlockView.swift
@@ -46,6 +46,9 @@ struct TableBlockView: View, TableAlignmentProvider {
     /// Stored column count - computed once on init for efficiency
     private let columnCount: Int
 
+    /// Headerless tables (`| | |`) skip the header band entirely
+    private let showsHeader: Bool
+
     init(headers: [String], rows: [[String]], alignments: [TextAlignment], theme: MarkdownTheme,
          fontScale: CGFloat = 1.0, searchText: String = "", focusedOccurrence: Int? = nil) {
         self.headers = headers
@@ -56,7 +59,8 @@ struct TableBlockView: View, TableAlignmentProvider {
         self.searchText = searchText
         self.focusedOccurrence = focusedOccurrence
         self.renderer = MarkdownRenderer(theme: theme, fontScale: fontScale)
-        self.columnCount = headers.count
+        self.columnCount = max(headers.count, alignments.count, rows.map(\.count).max() ?? 0)
+        self.showsHeader = headers.contains { !$0.trimmingCharacters(in: .whitespaces).isEmpty }
     }
 
     // MARK: - Body
@@ -66,32 +70,35 @@ struct TableBlockView: View, TableAlignmentProvider {
         let cellOffsets = computeCellOffsets()
 
         VStack(spacing: 0) {
-            // Header row with inline dividers (no GeometryReader)
-            HStack(spacing: 0) {
-                ForEach(0..<columnCount, id: \.self) { index in
-                    let rendered = renderer.renderInline(headers[index])
-                    let localFocused = localFocusedOccurrence(cellOffset: cellOffsets.headerOffsets[index],
-                                                               cellText: headers[index])
-                    Text(searchText.isEmpty ? rendered : searchHighlight(rendered, term: searchText, focusedOccurrence: localFocused))
-                        .font(.system(size: 13 * fontScale, weight: .semibold))
-                        .foregroundColor(theme.textColor)
-                        .multilineTextAlignment(textAlignmentFor(index))
-                        .frame(maxWidth: .infinity, alignment: alignmentFor(index))
-                        .padding(.horizontal, 12)
-                        .padding(.vertical, 8)
-
-                    // Inline vertical divider (except after last column)
-                    if index < columnCount - 1 {
-                        Rectangle()
-                            .fill(theme.borderColor)
-                            .frame(width: 1)
+            if showsHeader {
+                // Header row with inline dividers (no GeometryReader)
+                HStack(spacing: 0) {
+                    ForEach(0..<columnCount, id: \.self) { index in
+                        let header = headerCell(index)
+                        let rendered = renderer.renderInline(header)
+                        let localFocused = localFocusedOccurrence(cellOffset: cellOffsets.headerOffsets[index],
+                                                                   cellText: header)
+                        Text(searchText.isEmpty ? rendered : searchHighlight(rendered, term: searchText, focusedOccurrence: localFocused))
+                            .font(.system(size: 13 * fontScale, weight: .semibold))
+                            .foregroundColor(theme.textColor)
+                            .multilineTextAlignment(textAlignmentFor(index))
+                            .frame(maxWidth: .infinity, alignment: alignmentFor(index))
+                            .padding(.horizontal, 12)
+                            .padding(.vertical, 8)
+
+                        // Inline vertical divider (except after last column)
+                        if index < columnCount - 1 {
+                            Rectangle()
+                                .fill(theme.borderColor)
+                                .frame(width: 1)
+                        }
                     }
                 }
-            }
-            .background(theme.headerBackgroundColor)
+                .background(theme.headerBackgroundColor)
 
-            // Header separator
-            Rectangle().fill(theme.borderColor).frame(height: 1)
+                // Header separator
+                Rectangle().fill(theme.borderColor).frame(height: 1)
+            }
 
             // Data rows with inline dividers
             ForEach(Array(rows.enumerated()), id: \.offset) { rowIndex, row in
@@ -129,6 +136,11 @@ struct TableBlockView: View, TableAlignmentProvider {
         .overlay(RoundedRectangle(cornerRadius: 4).stroke(theme.borderColor, lineWidth: 1))
     }
 
+    /// Header cell at index, or "" when the header row is shorter than the column count
+    private func headerCell(_ index: Int) -> String {
+        index < headers.count ? headers[index] : ""
+    }
+
     // MARK: - Per-Cell Occurrence Tracking
 
     private struct CellOffsets {
@@ -146,7 +158,7 @@ struct TableBlockView: View, TableAlignmentProvider {
         var headerOffsets: [Int] = []
         for i in 0..<columnCount {
             headerOffsets.append(offset)
-            offset += countOccurrences(in: headers[i], of: searchText)
+            offset += countOccurrences(in: headerCell(i), of: searchText)
         }
         var rowOffsets: [[Int]] = []
         for row in rows {
diff --git a/QuickMD/QuickMDTests/ParserTests.swift b/QuickMD/QuickMDTests/ParserTests.swift
index 8129b54..f67c348 100644
--- a/QuickMD/QuickMDTests/ParserTests.swift
+++ b/QuickMD/QuickMDTests/ParserTests.swift
@@ -281,6 +281,25 @@ final class ParserTests: XCTestCase {
         XCTAssertTrue(rows.allSatisfy { $0.count == 3 })
     }
 
+    func testHeaderlessTableKeepsColumnsFromSeparator() {
+        let md = """
+        | | |
+        |---|---|
+        | **Kettle** | Boils water in about three minutes |
+        | **Toaster** | Two slots, one crumb tray |
+        """
+        let blocks = parse(md)
+        guard case .table(let headers, let rows, let alignments) = blocks[0].content else {
+            return XCTFail("expected table")
+        }
+        // Empty header row must not collapse the table — separator defines 2 columns
+        XCTAssertEqual(headers, ["", ""])
+        XCTAssertEqual(alignments.count, 2)
+        XCTAssertEqual(rows.count, 2)
+        XCTAssertEqual(rows[0], ["**Kettle**", "Boils water in about three minutes"])
+        XCTAssertEqual(rows[1], ["**Toaster**", "Two slots, one crumb tray"])
+    }
+
     // MARK: - Blockquotes
 
     func testBlockquoteNestingLevels() {