diff --git a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/Plugin/Validation/Constraint/ValidReferenceConstraintValidator.php b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/Plugin/Validation/Constraint/ValidReferenceConstraintValidator.php
index aef9fb0018..89126ec28f 100644
--- a/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/Plugin/Validation/Constraint/ValidReferenceConstraintValidator.php
+++ b/core/lib/Drupal/Core/Entity/Plugin/Validation/Constraint/ValidReferenceConstraintValidator.php
@@ -124,7 +124,7 @@ public function validate($value, Constraint $constraint) {
       // Get a list of pre-existing references.
       $previously_referenced_ids = [];
       if ($value->getParent() && ($entity = $value->getEntity()) && !$entity->isNew()) {
-        $existing_entity = $this->entityTypeManager->getStorage($entity->getEntityTypeId())->loadUnchanged($entity->id());
+        $existing_entity = $this->entityTypeManager->getStorage($entity->getEntityTypeId())->loadUnchanged($entity->id()) ?: $entity;
         foreach ($existing_entity->{$value->getFieldDefinition()->getName()}->getValue() as $item) {
           $previously_referenced_ids[$item['target_id']] = $item['target_id'];
         }
diff --git a/core/tests/Drupal/KernelTests/Core/Plugin/ContextDefinitionTest.php b/core/tests/Drupal/KernelTests/Core/Plugin/ContextDefinitionTest.php
index 842f76b456..9018d8177b 100644
--- a/core/tests/Drupal/KernelTests/Core/Plugin/ContextDefinitionTest.php
+++ b/core/tests/Drupal/KernelTests/Core/Plugin/ContextDefinitionTest.php
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 use Drupal\Core\Plugin\Context\EntityContext;
 use Drupal\entity_test\Entity\EntityTest;
 use Drupal\KernelTests\KernelTestBase;
+use Drupal\user\Entity\User;
 
 /**
  * @coversDefaultClass \Drupal\Core\Plugin\Context\ContextDefinition
@@ -16,14 +17,23 @@ class ContextDefinitionTest extends KernelTestBase {
   /**
    * {@inheritdoc}
    */
-  public static $modules = ['entity_test', 'user'];
+  protected static $modules = ['system', 'entity_test', 'user'];
+
+  /**
+   * {@inheritdoc}
+   */
+  protected function setUp() {
+    parent::setUp();
+
+    $this->installSchema('system', ['sequences']);
+    $this->installEntitySchema('user');
+    $this->installEntitySchema('entity_test');
+  }
 
   /**
    * @covers ::isSatisfiedBy
    */
   public function testIsSatisfiedBy() {
-    $this->installEntitySchema('user');
-
     $value = EntityTest::create([]);
     // Assert that the entity has at least one violation.
     $this->assertNotEmpty($value->validate());
@@ -34,4 +44,23 @@ public function testIsSatisfiedBy() {
     $this->assertTrue($requirement->isSatisfiedBy($context));
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Tests creating a context definition of a deleted entity.
+   */
+  public function testDelete() {
+    User::create(['name' => $this->randomString()])->save();
+
+    $value = EntityTest::create([]);
+    $value->save();
+
+    // Assert that the requirements are satisfied before and after deletion.
+    $requirement = new ContextDefinition('any');
+    $context = EntityContext::fromEntity($value);
+    $this->assertTrue($requirement->isSatisfiedBy($context));
+
+    $value->delete();
+    $context = EntityContext::fromEntity($value);
+    $this->assertTrue($requirement->isSatisfiedBy($context));
+  }
+
 }