diff --git a/src/app/item-page/edit-item-page/item-relationships/edit-relationship/edit-relationship.component.spec.ts b/src/app/item-page/edit-item-page/item-relationships/edit-relationship/edit-relationship.component.spec.ts
index 384e475c379..087866959cc 100644
--- a/src/app/item-page/edit-item-page/item-relationships/edit-relationship/edit-relationship.component.spec.ts
+++ b/src/app/item-page/edit-item-page/item-relationships/edit-relationship/edit-relationship.component.spec.ts
@@ -166,7 +166,7 @@ describe('EditRelationshipComponent', () => {
     comp.url = url;
     comp.fieldUpdate = fieldUpdate1;
     comp.editItem = item;
-    comp.relatedItem$ = observableOf(relatedItem);
+    comp.relatedItem$.next(relatedItem);
 
     fixture.detectChanges();
   });
diff --git a/src/app/item-page/edit-item-page/item-relationships/edit-relationship/edit-relationship.component.ts b/src/app/item-page/edit-item-page/item-relationships/edit-relationship/edit-relationship.component.ts
index 36df6a50f04..8341070537e 100644
--- a/src/app/item-page/edit-item-page/item-relationships/edit-relationship/edit-relationship.component.ts
+++ b/src/app/item-page/edit-item-page/item-relationships/edit-relationship/edit-relationship.component.ts
@@ -13,9 +13,9 @@ import {
 } from '@ng-bootstrap/ng-bootstrap';
 import { TranslateModule } from '@ngx-translate/core';
 import {
+  BehaviorSubject,
   combineLatest as observableCombineLatest,
   Observable,
-  of,
 } from 'rxjs';
 import {
   filter,
@@ -45,7 +45,6 @@ import { ListableObjectComponentLoaderComponent } from '../../../../shared/objec
 import { VirtualMetadataComponent } from '../../virtual-metadata/virtual-metadata.component';
 
 @Component({
-  // eslint-disable-next-line @angular-eslint/component-selector
   selector: 'ds-edit-relationship',
   styleUrls: ['./edit-relationship.component.scss'],
   templateUrl: './edit-relationship.component.html',
@@ -95,7 +94,7 @@ export class EditRelationshipComponent implements OnChanges {
   /**
    * The related item of this relationship
    */
-  relatedItem$: Observable<Item>;
+  relatedItem$: BehaviorSubject<Item> = new BehaviorSubject<Item>(null);
 
   /**
    * The view-mode we're currently on
@@ -128,16 +127,19 @@ export class EditRelationshipComponent implements OnChanges {
         getRemoteDataPayload(),
         filter((item: Item) => hasValue(item) && isNotEmpty(item.uuid)),
       );
-      this.relatedItem$ = observableCombineLatest(
+      observableCombineLatest([
         this.leftItem$,
         this.rightItem$,
-      ).pipe(
+      ]).pipe(
         map((items: Item[]) =>
           items.find((item) => item.uuid !== this.editItem.uuid),
         ),
-      );
+        take(1),
+      ).subscribe((relatedItem) => {
+        this.relatedItem$.next(relatedItem);
+      });
     } else {
-      this.relatedItem$ = of(this.update.relatedItem);
+      this.relatedItem$.next(this.update.relatedItem);
     }
   }
 
@@ -146,10 +148,10 @@ export class EditRelationshipComponent implements OnChanges {
    */
   remove(): void {
     this.closeVirtualMetadataModal();
-    observableCombineLatest(
+    observableCombineLatest([
       this.leftItem$,
       this.rightItem$,
-    ).pipe(
+    ]).pipe(
       map((items: Item[]) =>
         items.map((item) => this.objectUpdatesService
           .isSelectedVirtualMetadata(this.url, this.relationship.id, item.uuid)),