diff --git a/ormar/protocols/queryset_protocol.py b/ormar/protocols/queryset_protocol.py
index 397f58b..fe58ca1 100644
--- a/ormar/protocols/queryset_protocol.py
+++ b/ormar/protocols/queryset_protocol.py
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ class QuerySetProtocol(Protocol):  # pragma: nocover
     async def exists(self) -> bool:
         ...
 
-    async def count(self) -> int:
+    async def count(self, distinct: bool = True) -> int:
         ...
 
     async def clear(self) -> int:
diff --git a/ormar/queryset/queryset.py b/ormar/queryset/queryset.py
index 16f9bff..0f3af12 100644
--- a/ormar/queryset/queryset.py
+++ b/ormar/queryset/queryset.py
@@ -682,6 +682,12 @@ class QuerySet(Generic[T]):
         """
         Returns number of rows matching the given criteria
         (applied with `filter` and `exclude` if set before).
+        If `distinct` is `True` (the default), this will return the number of primary rows selected. If `False`,
+        the count will be the total number of rows returned
+        (including extra rows for `one-to-many` or `many-to-many` left `select_related` table joins).
+        `False` is the legacy (buggy) behavior for workflows that depend on it.
+
+        :param distinct: flag if the primary table rows should be distinct or not
 
         :return: number of rows
         :rtype: int
diff --git a/ormar/relations/querysetproxy.py b/ormar/relations/querysetproxy.py
index 8170cf3..791d950 100644
--- a/ormar/relations/querysetproxy.py
+++ b/ormar/relations/querysetproxy.py
@@ -193,17 +193,22 @@ class QuerysetProxy(Generic[T]):
         """
         return await self.queryset.exists()
 
-    async def count(self) -> int:
+    async def count(self, distinct: bool = True) -> int:
         """
         Returns number of rows matching the given criteria
         (applied with `filter` and `exclude` if set before).
+        If `distinct` is `True` (the default), this will return the number of primary rows selected. If `False`,
+        the count will be the total number of rows returned
+        (including extra rows for `one-to-many` or `many-to-many` left `select_related` table joins).
+        `False` is the legacy (buggy) behavior for workflows that depend on it.
 
         Actual call delegated to QuerySet.
 
+        :param distinct: flag if the primary table rows should be distinct or not
         :return: number of rows
         :rtype: int
         """
-        return await self.queryset.count()
+        return await self.queryset.count(distinct=distinct)
 
     async def max(self, columns: Union[str, List[str]]) -> Any:  # noqa: A003
         """