diff --git a/src/accessibility/RovingTabIndex.tsx b/src/accessibility/RovingTabIndex.tsx
index a7f8f735cec..0ef46172940 100644
--- a/src/accessibility/RovingTabIndex.tsx
+++ b/src/accessibility/RovingTabIndex.tsx
@@ -130,7 +130,10 @@ export const reducer = (state: IState, action: IAction) => {
                     state.activeRef = findSiblingElement(state.refs, oldIndex)
                         || findSiblingElement(state.refs, oldIndex, true);
                 }
-                state.activeRef?.current?.focus();
+                if (document.activeElement === document.body) {
+                    // if the focus got reverted to the body then the user was likely focused on the unmounted element
+                    state.activeRef?.current?.focus();
+                }
             }
 
             // update the refs list