diff --git a/pytorch_lightning/models/trainer.py b/pytorch_lightning/models/trainer.py
index b2636d3c21..b208efc080 100644
--- a/pytorch_lightning/models/trainer.py
+++ b/pytorch_lightning/models/trainer.py
@@ -246,10 +246,7 @@ class Trainer(TrainerIO):
 
         # put on gpu if needed
         if self.on_gpu:
-            if self.data_parallel:
-                model = DataParallel(model, device_ids=self.data_parallel_device_ids)
-            else:
-                model = model.cuda()
+            model = DataParallel(model, device_ids=self.data_parallel_device_ids)
 
         # run tiny validation to make sure program won't crash during val
         _ = self.validate(model, self.val_dataloader, max_batches=self.nb_sanity_val_steps)