diff --git a/packages/editor/src/components/rich-text/index.js b/packages/editor/src/components/rich-text/index.js
index 2033ce14cb8f7d..688a5287052b68 100644
--- a/packages/editor/src/components/rich-text/index.js
+++ b/packages/editor/src/components/rich-text/index.js
@@ -682,18 +682,6 @@ export class RichText extends Component {
 			this.savedContent = value;
 		}
 
-		// If blocks are merged, but the content remains the same, e.g. merging
-		// an empty paragraph into another, then also set the selection to the
-		// end.
-		if ( isSelected && ! prevProps.isSelected && ! this.isActive() ) {
-			const record = this.formatToValue( value );
-			const prevRecord = this.formatToValue( prevProps.value );
-			const length = getTextContent( prevRecord ).length;
-			record.start = length;
-			record.end = length;
-			this.applyRecord( record );
-		}
-
 		// If any format props update, reapply value.
 		const shouldReapply = Object.keys( this.props ).some( ( name ) => {
 			if ( name.indexOf( 'format_' ) !== 0 ) {
diff --git a/packages/editor/src/store/reducer.js b/packages/editor/src/store/reducer.js
index e013cc5b7a0ed3..385e99e8be5366 100644
--- a/packages/editor/src/store/reducer.js
+++ b/packages/editor/src/store/reducer.js
@@ -795,6 +795,9 @@ export function blockSelection( state = {
 			// If there is replacement block(s), assign first's client ID as
 			// the next selected block. If empty replacement, reset to null.
 			const nextSelectedBlockClientId = get( action.blocks, [ 0, 'clientId' ], null );
+			if ( nextSelectedBlockClientId === state.start && nextSelectedBlockClientId === state.end ) {
+				return state;
+			}
 
 			return {
 				...state,
diff --git a/packages/editor/src/store/test/reducer.js b/packages/editor/src/store/test/reducer.js
index 2ddb631b5e2139..884314fe553098 100644
--- a/packages/editor/src/store/test/reducer.js
+++ b/packages/editor/src/store/test/reducer.js
@@ -1761,6 +1761,25 @@ describe( 'state', () => {
 			} );
 		} );
 
+		it( 'should not replace the selected block if we keep it when replacing blocks', () => {
+			const original = deepFreeze( { start: 'chicken', end: 'chicken' } );
+			const state = blockSelection( original, {
+				type: 'REPLACE_BLOCKS',
+				clientIds: [ 'chicken' ],
+				blocks: [
+					{
+						clientId: 'chicken',
+						name: 'core/freeform',
+					},
+					{
+						clientId: 'wings',
+						name: 'core/freeform',
+					} ],
+			} );
+
+			expect( state ).toBe( original );
+		} );
+
 		it( 'should reset if replacing with empty set', () => {
 			const original = deepFreeze( { start: 'chicken', end: 'chicken' } );
 			const state = blockSelection( original, {