diff --git a/instrumentation/ethon/lib/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/patches/dup/easy.rb b/instrumentation/ethon/lib/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/patches/dup/easy.rb
index 16bcdeadfe..8099eca033 100644
--- a/instrumentation/ethon/lib/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/patches/dup/easy.rb
+++ b/instrumentation/ethon/lib/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/patches/dup/easy.rb
@@ -38,6 +38,11 @@ def headers=(headers)
             def perform
               otel_before_request
               super
+            rescue StandardError => e
+              # If an exception occurs before we can call `complete`, we should add and error status and close the span
+              @otel_span&.status = OpenTelemetry::Trace::Status.error("Request threw an exception: #{e.message}")
+              @otel_span&.finish
+              @otel_span = nil
             end
 
             def complete
diff --git a/instrumentation/ethon/lib/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/patches/old/easy.rb b/instrumentation/ethon/lib/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/patches/old/easy.rb
index aa83ddffff..7d72e2ed69 100644
--- a/instrumentation/ethon/lib/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/patches/old/easy.rb
+++ b/instrumentation/ethon/lib/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/patches/old/easy.rb
@@ -35,6 +35,11 @@ def headers=(headers)
             def perform
               otel_before_request
               super
+            rescue StandardError => e
+              # If an exception occurs before we can call `complete`, we should add and error status and close the span
+              @otel_span&.status = OpenTelemetry::Trace::Status.error("Request threw an exception: #{e.message}")
+              @otel_span&.finish
+              @otel_span = nil
             end
 
             def complete
diff --git a/instrumentation/ethon/lib/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/patches/stable/easy.rb b/instrumentation/ethon/lib/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/patches/stable/easy.rb
index 4af3ebf9cb..1306183ccb 100644
--- a/instrumentation/ethon/lib/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/patches/stable/easy.rb
+++ b/instrumentation/ethon/lib/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/patches/stable/easy.rb
@@ -38,6 +38,11 @@ def headers=(headers)
             def perform
               otel_before_request
               super
+            rescue StandardError => e
+              # If an exception occurs before we can call `complete`, we should add and error status and close the span
+              @otel_span&.status = OpenTelemetry::Trace::Status.error("Request threw an exception: #{e.message}")
+              @otel_span&.finish
+              @otel_span = nil
             end
 
             def complete
diff --git a/instrumentation/ethon/test/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/dup/instrumentation_test.rb b/instrumentation/ethon/test/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/dup/instrumentation_test.rb
index 3da341d966..76603741c8 100644
--- a/instrumentation/ethon/test/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/dup/instrumentation_test.rb
+++ b/instrumentation/ethon/test/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/dup/instrumentation_test.rb
@@ -82,6 +82,26 @@
             end
           end
         end
+
+        it 'when the perform fails before complete with an exception' do
+          Ethon::Curl.stub(:easy_perform, ->(_handle) { raise StandardError, 'Connection failed' }) do
+            easy.perform
+
+            # NOTE: check the finished spans since we expect to have closed it
+            span = exporter.finished_spans.first
+            _(span.name).must_equal 'HTTP'
+            _(span.attributes['http.method']).must_equal 'N/A'
+            _(span.attributes['http.status_code']).must_be_nil
+            _(span.attributes['http.url']).must_equal 'http://example.com/test'
+            _(span.attributes['http.request.method']).must_equal '_OTHER'
+            _(span.attributes['http.response.status_code']).must_be_nil
+            _(span.attributes['url.full']).must_equal 'http://example.com/test'
+            _(span.status.code).must_equal(
+              OpenTelemetry::Trace::Status::ERROR
+            )
+            _(easy.instance_eval { @otel_span }).must_be_nil
+          end
+        end
       end
 
       describe '#complete' do
diff --git a/instrumentation/ethon/test/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/old/instrumentation_test.rb b/instrumentation/ethon/test/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/old/instrumentation_test.rb
index 0daf151f73..4c9b5cb360 100644
--- a/instrumentation/ethon/test/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/old/instrumentation_test.rb
+++ b/instrumentation/ethon/test/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/old/instrumentation_test.rb
@@ -77,6 +77,23 @@
             end
           end
         end
+
+        it 'when the perform fails before complete with an exception' do
+          Ethon::Curl.stub(:easy_perform, ->(_handle) { raise StandardError, 'Connection failed' }) do
+            easy.perform
+
+            # NOTE: check the finished spans since we expect to have closed it
+            span = exporter.finished_spans.first
+            _(span.name).must_equal 'HTTP N/A'
+            _(span.attributes['http.method']).must_equal 'N/A'
+            _(span.attributes['http.status_code']).must_be_nil
+            _(span.attributes['http.url']).must_equal 'http://example.com/test'
+            _(span.status.code).must_equal(
+              OpenTelemetry::Trace::Status::ERROR
+            )
+            _(easy.instance_eval { @otel_span }).must_be_nil
+          end
+        end
       end
 
       describe '#complete' do
diff --git a/instrumentation/ethon/test/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/stable/instrumentation_test.rb b/instrumentation/ethon/test/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/stable/instrumentation_test.rb
index c787a78d3e..4179072ec2 100644
--- a/instrumentation/ethon/test/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/stable/instrumentation_test.rb
+++ b/instrumentation/ethon/test/opentelemetry/instrumentation/ethon/stable/instrumentation_test.rb
@@ -78,6 +78,23 @@
             end
           end
         end
+
+        it 'when the perform fails before complete with an exception' do
+          Ethon::Curl.stub(:easy_perform, ->(_handle) { raise StandardError, 'Connection failed' }) do
+            easy.perform
+
+            # NOTE: check the finished spans since we expect to have closed it
+            span = exporter.finished_spans.first
+            _(span.name).must_equal 'HTTP'
+            _(span.attributes['http.request.method']).must_equal '_OTHER'
+            _(span.attributes['http.response.status_code']).must_be_nil
+            _(span.attributes['url.full']).must_equal 'http://example.com/test'
+            _(span.status.code).must_equal(
+              OpenTelemetry::Trace::Status::ERROR
+            )
+            _(easy.instance_eval { @otel_span }).must_be_nil
+          end
+        end
       end
 
       describe '#complete' do