diff --git a/src/build_options.rs b/src/build_options.rs
index 80244beeb..7588e78c6 100644
--- a/src/build_options.rs
+++ b/src/build_options.rs
@@ -708,7 +708,6 @@ pub fn find_interpreter(
                         ext_suffix: ext_suffix.to_string(),
                         interpreter_kind,
                         abi_tag,
-                        libs_dir: PathBuf::from(cross_lib_dir),
                         platform: None,
                         runnable: false,
                     }];
@@ -744,7 +743,7 @@ pub fn find_interpreter(
             // Unfortunately, on windows we need one to figure out base_prefix for a linker
             // argument.
             if target.is_windows() {
-                if let Some(manual_base_prefix) = std::env::var_os("PYO3_CROSS_LIB_DIR") {
+                if env::var_os("PYO3_CROSS_LIB_DIR").is_some() {
                     // PYO3_CROSS_LIB_DIR should point to the `libs` directory inside base_prefix
                     // when cross compiling, so we fake a python interpreter matching it
                     println!("⚠️  Cross-compiling is poorly supported");
@@ -757,7 +756,6 @@ pub fn find_interpreter(
                         ext_suffix: ".pyd".to_string(),
                         interpreter_kind: InterpreterKind::CPython,
                         abi_tag: None,
-                        libs_dir: PathBuf::from(manual_base_prefix),
                         platform: None,
                         runnable: false,
                     }])
@@ -776,7 +774,6 @@ pub fn find_interpreter(
                         ext_suffix: ".pyd".to_string(),
                         interpreter_kind: InterpreterKind::CPython,
                         abi_tag: None,
-                        libs_dir: PathBuf::new(),
                         platform: None,
                         runnable: false,
                     }])
diff --git a/src/get_interpreter_metadata.py b/src/get_interpreter_metadata.py
index 3bf13fe95..5c63488be 100644
--- a/src/get_interpreter_metadata.py
+++ b/src/get_interpreter_metadata.py
@@ -28,8 +28,6 @@
     "platform": sysconfig.get_platform(),
     # This one isn't technically necessary, but still very useful for sanity checks
     "system": platform.system().lower(),
-    # We need this one for windows abi3 builds
-    "base_prefix": sys.base_prefix,
 }
 
 print(json.dumps(metadata))
diff --git a/src/python_interpreter.rs b/src/python_interpreter.rs
index f15918678..75aee6e47 100644
--- a/src/python_interpreter.rs
+++ b/src/python_interpreter.rs
@@ -256,7 +256,6 @@ struct IntepreterMetadataMessage {
     // comes from `platform.system()`
     system: String,
     abi_tag: Option<String>,
-    base_prefix: String,
 }
 
 /// The location and version of an interpreter
@@ -287,8 +286,6 @@ pub struct PythonInterpreter {
     ///
     /// Note that this always `None` on windows
     pub abi_tag: Option<String>,
-    /// We need this value for windows abi3 linking
-    pub libs_dir: PathBuf,
     /// Comes from `sysconfig.get_platform()`
     ///
     /// Note that this can be `None` when cross compiling
@@ -528,7 +525,6 @@ impl PythonInterpreter {
                 .context("syconfig didn't define an `EXT_SUFFIX` ಠ_ಠ")?,
             interpreter_kind: interpreter,
             abi_tag: message.abi_tag,
-            libs_dir: PathBuf::from(message.base_prefix).join("libs"),
             platform,
             runnable: true,
         }))