diff --git a/litellm/router_utils/cooldown_handlers.py b/litellm/router_utils/cooldown_handlers.py
index 128bca6cca0..a1b1e327802 100644
--- a/litellm/router_utils/cooldown_handlers.py
+++ b/litellm/router_utils/cooldown_handlers.py
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ from datetime import datetime
 from types import MappingProxyType
 from typing import TYPE_CHECKING, Any, Final
 
-from pydantic import TypeAdapter
+from pydantic import TypeAdapter, ValidationError
 
 import litellm
 from litellm._internal_context import service_target
@@ -417,17 +417,35 @@ def _should_run_cooldown_logic(
     return True
 
 
-_FALLBACK_ENTRIES_ADAPTER: Final = TypeAdapter(tuple[Mapping[str, list[str | Mapping[str, object]]] | str, ...])
+_FALLBACK_ENTRIES_ADAPTER: Final = TypeAdapter(tuple[object, ...])
+_FALLBACK_ENTRY_ADAPTER: Final = TypeAdapter(Mapping[str, list[str | Mapping[str, object]] | str])
 
 
 def _fallback_target_name(target: str | Mapping[str, object]) -> str:
     return target if isinstance(target, str) else str(target.get("model", ""))
 
 
+def _fallback_target_names(
+    targets: Sequence[str | Mapping[str, object]] | str,
+) -> list[str]:  # mutable-ok: mirrors get_fallback_model_group's fallbacks shape
+    return [targets] if isinstance(targets, str) else [_fallback_target_name(target) for target in targets]
+
+
 def _fallback_chain_names(
-    entry: Mapping[str, Sequence[str | Mapping[str, object]]],
-) -> Mapping[str, list[str]]:  # mutable-ok: mirrors get_fallback_model_group's fallbacks shape
-    return {key: [_fallback_target_name(target) for target in targets] for key, targets in entry.items()}
+    entry: object,
+) -> Mapping[str, list[str]] | None:  # mutable-ok: mirrors get_fallback_model_group's fallbacks shape
+    try:
+        validated: Final = _FALLBACK_ENTRY_ADAPTER.validate_python(entry)
+    except ValidationError:
+        return None
+    return {key: _fallback_target_names(targets) for key, targets in validated.items()}
+
+
+def _fallback_entries(configured: object) -> tuple[object, ...]:
+    try:
+        return _FALLBACK_ENTRIES_ADAPTER.validate_python(configured)
+    except ValidationError:
+        return ()
 
 
 def _has_fallback_group(litellm_router_instance: LitellmRouter, requested_model_group: str | None) -> bool:
@@ -437,9 +455,7 @@ def _has_fallback_group(litellm_router_instance: LitellmRouter, requested_model_
     if requested_model_group is None or not configured:
         return False
     chains: Final = tuple(
-        _fallback_chain_names(entry)
-        for entry in _FALLBACK_ENTRIES_ADAPTER.validate_python(configured)
-        if isinstance(entry, Mapping)
+        chain for chain in map(_fallback_chain_names, _fallback_entries(configured)) if chain is not None
     )
     fallback_group, _ = get_fallback_model_group(fallbacks=chains, model_group=requested_model_group)
     return bool(fallback_group)
diff --git a/tests/integration/sdk/test_router_cooldown_fallback_sdk.py b/tests/integration/sdk/test_router_cooldown_fallback_sdk.py
index 747adeee41d..e7508a2670e 100644
--- a/tests/integration/sdk/test_router_cooldown_fallback_sdk.py
+++ b/tests/integration/sdk/test_router_cooldown_fallback_sdk.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ from pydantic import JsonValue, TypeAdapter
 
 import litellm
 from litellm import Router
+from litellm.router_utils.cooldown_handlers import async_get_cooldown_deployments
 from litellm.types.router import DeploymentTypedDict
 
 _MODEL: Final = "gpt-5.4"
@@ -118,3 +119,30 @@ async def test_cooldown_skips_only_the_failed_duplicate_model_deployment() -> No
         "/primary/chat/completions",
         "/backup/chat/completions",
     )
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "router_kwargs",
+    [{"fallbacks": [{"primary": "backup"}]}, {"default_fallbacks": "backup"}],
+    ids=["string_fallback_target", "string_default_fallbacks"],
+)
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_string_valued_fallbacks_still_cool_down_the_failing_primary(router_kwargs: dict[str, object]) -> None:
+    with wire_server(_peer) as wire:
+        router: Final = Router(
+            model_list=[
+                _deployment("primary", f"{wire.url}/primary", "primary-deployment"),
+                _deployment("backup", f"{wire.url}/backup", "backup-deployment"),
+            ],
+            allowed_fails=0,
+            num_retries=0,
+            **router_kwargs,
+        )
+        with pytest.raises(litellm.AuthenticationError):
+            await router.acompletion(
+                model="primary",
+                messages=[{"role": "user", "content": f"cooldown {uuid.uuid4().hex}"}],
+            )
+        cooled: Final = await async_get_cooldown_deployments(litellm_router_instance=router, parent_otel_span=None)
+
+    assert tuple(cooled) == ("primary-deployment",)
diff --git a/tests/unit/router_utils/test_cooldown_handlers.py b/tests/unit/router_utils/test_cooldown_handlers.py
index 0d39016ea79..24459a5a250 100644
--- a/tests/unit/router_utils/test_cooldown_handlers.py
+++ b/tests/unit/router_utils/test_cooldown_handlers.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ from litellm.router_utils.cooldown_callbacks import router_cooldown_event_callba
 from litellm.router_utils.cooldown_handlers import (
     _get_deployment_cooldown_policy,
     _has_explicit_allowed_fails_policy_for_exception,
+    _has_fallback_group,
     _increment_allowed_fails,
     _is_cooldown_required,
     _resolve_allowed_fails_from_policy,
@@ -3149,6 +3150,8 @@ BENCHED: Final = (litellm.Timeout, litellm.Timeout, RouterRateLimitError, Router
             {},
             BENCHED,
         ),
+        ({"allowed_fails": 1, "fallbacks": [{"test-model": "backup-model"}]}, {}, BENCHED),
+        ({"allowed_fails": 1, "default_fallbacks": "backup-model"}, {}, BENCHED),
     ],
     ids=[
         "allowed_fails",
@@ -3157,6 +3160,8 @@ BENCHED: Final = (litellm.Timeout, litellm.Timeout, RouterRateLimitError, Router
         "policy_names_timeout",
         "allowed_fails_with_a_fallback_group",
         "allowed_fails_with_a_dict_fallback_target",
+        "allowed_fails_with_a_string_fallback_target",
+        "allowed_fails_with_a_string_default_fallbacks",
     ],
 )
 @pytest.mark.asyncio
@@ -3180,6 +3185,33 @@ async def test_router_allowed_fails_benches_a_lone_deployment_only_when_the_poli
     assert len(route.calls) == outcomes.count(litellm.Timeout)
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    ("fallbacks", "expected"),
+    [
+        ([{"test-model": "backup-model"}], True),
+        ([{"*": "backup-model"}], True),
+        ([{"test-model": ["backup-model"]}], True),
+        ([{"test-model": 5}, {"*": "backup-model"}], True),
+        ([{"test-model": 5}], False),
+        ([{"other-model": ["backup-model"]}], False),
+    ],
+    ids=[
+        "string_target",
+        "string_catch_all_from_default_fallbacks",
+        "list_target",
+        "unparseable_entry_does_not_hide_the_catch_all",
+        "unparseable_entry_alone",
+        "another_groups_chain",
+    ],
+)
+def test_has_fallback_group_reads_string_targets_and_skips_unparseable_entries(
+    fallbacks: Sequence[Mapping[str, object]], expected: bool
+) -> None:
+    router: Final = Router(model_list=[TIMED_OUT_DEPLOYMENT], fallbacks=list(fallbacks))
+
+    assert _has_fallback_group(router, "test-model") is expected
+
+
 async def _group_call_outcome(router: Router) -> str:
     try:
         response: Final = await router.acompletion(