diff --git a/diff/diff_test.go b/diff/diff_test.go
index b3965e80..24d5422c 100644
--- a/diff/diff_test.go
+++ b/diff/diff_test.go
@@ -602,6 +602,15 @@ spec:
       containers:
       - name: app
         image: demo:v1
+      affinity:
+        nodeAffinity:
+          requiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution:
+            nodeSelectorTerms:
+            - matchExpressions:
+              - key: node-type
+                operator: In
+                values:
+                - standard
 `
 	newManifest := `
 apiVersion: apps/v1
@@ -616,6 +625,15 @@ spec:
       containers:
       - name: app
         image: demo:v2
+      affinity:
+        nodeAffinity:
+          requiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution:
+            nodeSelectorTerms:
+            - matchExpressions:
+              - key: node-type
+                operator: In
+                values:
+                - dedicated
 `
 	oldIndex := manifest.Parse([]byte(oldManifest), "prod", true)
 	newIndex := manifest.Parse([]byte(newManifest), "prod", true)
@@ -633,7 +651,7 @@ spec:
 	require.Equal(t, "Deployment", entry.Kind)
 	require.Equal(t, "prod", entry.Namespace)
 	require.Equal(t, "web", entry.Name)
-	require.Len(t, entry.Changes, 2)
+	require.Len(t, entry.Changes, 3)
 	replicasChange, ok := findChange(entry.Changes, "spec", "replicas")
 	require.True(t, ok)
 	require.InDelta(t, float64(2), replicasChange.OldValue, 0.001)
@@ -643,6 +661,11 @@ spec:
 	require.True(t, ok)
 	require.Equal(t, "demo:v1", imageChange.OldValue)
 	require.Equal(t, "demo:v2", imageChange.NewValue)
+
+	affinityChange, ok := findChange(entry.Changes, "spec.template.spec.affinity.nodeAffinity.requiredDuringSchedulingIgnoredDuringExecution.nodeSelectorTerms[0].matchExpressions[0].values", "0")
+	require.True(t, ok)
+	require.Equal(t, "standard", affinityChange.OldValue)
+	require.Equal(t, "dedicated", affinityChange.NewValue)
 }
 
 func TestStructuredOutputAddAndRemove(t *testing.T) {
diff --git a/diff/structured.go b/diff/structured.go
index 6b0f1238..6d893269 100644
--- a/diff/structured.go
+++ b/diff/structured.go
@@ -271,6 +271,20 @@ func diffArrayNodes(changes *[]FieldChange, tokens []string, oldNode, newNode in
 			if reflect.DeepEqual(oldVal, newVal) {
 				continue
 			}
+			// If both oldVal and newVal are strings, we can directly record the change without further recursion.
+			if oldStr, ok := oldVal.(string); ok {
+				if newStr, ok := newVal.(string); ok {
+					path, field := splitTokens(next)
+					*changes = append(*changes, FieldChange{
+						Path:     path,
+						Field:    field,
+						Change:   "replace",
+						OldValue: oldStr,
+						NewValue: newStr,
+					})
+					continue
+				}
+			}
 			subPatch, err := createNodePatch(oldVal, newVal)
 			if err != nil {
 				return err