diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 4c89ab96e..c5e8c46de 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ install(DIRECTORY pybind11 TYPE LIB)
 find_package(
   Python ${WRAP_PYTHON_VERSION}
   COMPONENTS Interpreter
-  REQUIRED)
+  EXACT)
 
 # Detect virtualenv and set Pip args accordingly
 # https://www.scivision.dev/cmake-install-python-package/
diff --git a/cmake/GtwrapUtils.cmake b/cmake/GtwrapUtils.cmake
index 9c6b141a0..b5f791250 100644
--- a/cmake/GtwrapUtils.cmake
+++ b/cmake/GtwrapUtils.cmake
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ macro(gtwrap_get_python_version WRAP_PYTHON_VERSION)
     find_package(
       Python ${WRAP_PYTHON_VERSION}
       COMPONENTS Interpreter Development
-      EXACT REQUIRED)
+      EXACT)
   endif()
 
 endmacro()