diff --git a/packages/ra-core/src/controller/input/ReferenceArrayInputController.spec.tsx b/packages/ra-core/src/controller/input/ReferenceArrayInputController.spec.tsx
index 6440ac76a51..e40c3e5ac73 100644
--- a/packages/ra-core/src/controller/input/ReferenceArrayInputController.spec.tsx
+++ b/packages/ra-core/src/controller/input/ReferenceArrayInputController.spec.tsx
@@ -564,7 +564,14 @@ describe('<ReferenceArrayInputController />', () => {
                 input={{ value: [5] }}
             >
                 {children}
-            </ReferenceArrayInputController>
+            </ReferenceArrayInputController>,
+            {
+                admin: {
+                    resources: { tags: { data: {}, list: {} } },
+                    references: { possibleValues: {} },
+                    ui: { viewVersion: 1 },
+                },
+            }
         );
 
         await wait();
diff --git a/packages/ra-core/src/controller/input/useReferenceArrayInputController.ts b/packages/ra-core/src/controller/input/useReferenceArrayInputController.ts
index e103c0b1ea0..0ff5e2707fd 100644
--- a/packages/ra-core/src/controller/input/useReferenceArrayInputController.ts
+++ b/packages/ra-core/src/controller/input/useReferenceArrayInputController.ts
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 import { useMemo, useState, useEffect, useRef } from 'react';
+import { useSelector } from 'react-redux';
 import isEqual from 'lodash/isEqual';
 import difference from 'lodash/difference';
-import { Pagination, Record, Sort } from '../../types';
+import { Pagination, Record, Sort, ReduxState } from '../../types';
 import { useGetMany } from '../../dataProvider';
 import { FieldInputProps } from 'react-final-form';
 import useGetMatching from '../../dataProvider/useGetMatching';
@@ -49,12 +50,18 @@ const useReferenceArrayInputController = ({
     // only the missing references when the input value changes
     const inputValue = useRef(input.value);
     const [idsToFetch, setIdsToFetch] = useState(input.value);
+    const [idsToGetFromStore, setIdsToGetFromStore] = useState([]);
+    const referenceRecordsFromStore = useSelector((state: ReduxState) =>
+        idsToGetFromStore.map(id => state.admin.resources[reference].data[id])
+    );
 
+    // optimization: we fetch selected items only once. When the user selects more items,
+    // as we already have the past selected items in the store, we don't fetch them.
     useEffect(() => {
         const newIdsToFetch = difference(input.value, inputValue.current);
-
         if (newIdsToFetch.length > 0) {
             setIdsToFetch(newIdsToFetch);
+            setIdsToGetFromStore(inputValue.current);
         }
         inputValue.current = input.value;
     }, [input.value, setIdsToFetch]);
@@ -90,11 +97,18 @@ const useReferenceArrayInputController = ({
         [defaultFilter, filter, filterToQuery]
     );
 
-    const { data: referenceRecords, loaded } = useGetMany(
+    const { data: referenceRecordsFetched, loaded } = useGetMany(
         reference,
         idsToFetch || []
     );
 
+    const referenceRecords = referenceRecordsFetched
+        ? referenceRecordsFetched.concat(referenceRecordsFromStore)
+        : referenceRecordsFromStore;
+
+    // filter out not found references - happens when the dataProvider doesn't guarantee referential integrity
+    const finalReferenceRecords = referenceRecords.filter(Boolean);
+
     const { data: matchingReferences } = useGetMatching(
         reference,
         pagination,
@@ -105,11 +119,6 @@ const useReferenceArrayInputController = ({
         options
     );
 
-    // filter out not found references - happens when the dataProvider doesn't guarantee referential integrity
-    const finalReferenceRecords = referenceRecords
-        ? referenceRecords.filter(Boolean)
-        : [];
-
     // We merge the currently selected records with the matching ones, otherwise
     // the component displaying the currently selected records may fail
     const finalMatchingReferences =
diff --git a/packages/ra-core/src/dataProvider/defaultDataProvider.ts b/packages/ra-core/src/dataProvider/defaultDataProvider.ts
index ed0e4294c96..8455e83d442 100644
--- a/packages/ra-core/src/dataProvider/defaultDataProvider.ts
+++ b/packages/ra-core/src/dataProvider/defaultDataProvider.ts
@@ -1,11 +1,11 @@
 export default {
-    create: () => Promise.resolve(null), // avoids adding a context in tests
-    delete: () => Promise.resolve(null), // avoids adding a context in tests
-    deleteMany: () => Promise.resolve(null), // avoids adding a context in tests
-    getList: () => Promise.resolve(null), // avoids adding a context in tests
-    getMany: () => Promise.resolve(null), // avoids adding a context in tests
-    getManyReference: () => Promise.resolve(null), // avoids adding a context in tests
-    getOne: () => Promise.resolve(null), // avoids adding a context in tests
-    update: () => Promise.resolve(null), // avoids adding a context in tests
-    updateMany: () => Promise.resolve(null), // avoids adding a context in tests
+    create: () => Promise.resolve({ data: null }), // avoids adding a context in tests
+    delete: () => Promise.resolve({ data: null }), // avoids adding a context in tests
+    deleteMany: () => Promise.resolve({ data: [] }), // avoids adding a context in tests
+    getList: () => Promise.resolve({ data: [], total: 0 }), // avoids adding a context in tests
+    getMany: () => Promise.resolve({ data: [] }), // avoids adding a context in tests
+    getManyReference: () => Promise.resolve({ data: [], total: 0 }), // avoids adding a context in tests
+    getOne: () => Promise.resolve({ data: null }), // avoids adding a context in tests
+    update: () => Promise.resolve({ data: null }), // avoids adding a context in tests
+    updateMany: () => Promise.resolve({ data: [] }), // avoids adding a context in tests
 };