diff --git a/crates/nu-command/src/system/exec.rs b/crates/nu-command/src/system/exec.rs
index 8a2b24a113..e9f49b86c1 100644
--- a/crates/nu-command/src/system/exec.rs
+++ b/crates/nu-command/src/system/exec.rs
@@ -61,6 +61,16 @@ On Windows based systems, Nushell will wait for the command to finish and then e
         let envs = env_to_strings(engine_state, stack)?;
         command.env_clear();
         command.envs(envs);
+        // Decrement SHLVL as removing the current shell from the stack
+        // (only works in interactive mode, same as initialization)
+        if engine_state.is_interactive {
+            if let Some(shlvl) = engine_state.get_env_var("SHLVL") {
+                let shlvl = shlvl.as_int().unwrap_or(1) - 1;
+                command.env("SHLVL", shlvl.to_string());
+            } else {
+                command.env("SHLVL", "0");
+            }
+        }
 
         // Configure args.
         let args = crate::eval_arguments_from_call(engine_state, stack, call)?;
diff --git a/src/main.rs b/src/main.rs
index 7d39aef02b..db55db3ff2 100644
--- a/src/main.rs
+++ b/src/main.rs
@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ fn main() -> Result<()> {
     if engine_state.is_interactive {
         let mut shlvl = engine_state
             .get_env_var("SHLVL")
-            .map(|x| x.as_str().unwrap_or("0").parse::<i64>().unwrap_or(0))
+            .map(|x| x.as_int().unwrap_or(0))
             .unwrap_or(0);
         shlvl += 1;
         engine_state.add_env_var("SHLVL".to_string(), Value::int(shlvl, Span::unknown()));