diff --git a/changelog.d/965.bugfix.md b/changelog.d/965.bugfix.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d861d4fcb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/changelog.d/965.bugfix.md
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+Resolve the `DEFAULT_PYTHON` to the actual absolute path
diff --git a/src/pipx/interpreter.py b/src/pipx/interpreter.py
index 017b8f655..cbd5fb3ff 100644
--- a/src/pipx/interpreter.py
+++ b/src/pipx/interpreter.py
@@ -129,7 +129,7 @@ def _get_sys_executable() -> str:
     if WINDOWS:
         return _find_default_windows_python()
     else:
-        return sys.executable
+        return str(Path(sys.executable).resolve())
 
 
 def _get_absolute_python_interpreter(env_python: str) -> str: