diff --git a/packages/core/src/editor/Block.css b/packages/core/src/editor/Block.css
index e14ddd6cfa..63b03a8fcb 100644
--- a/packages/core/src/editor/Block.css
+++ b/packages/core/src/editor/Block.css
@@ -673,6 +673,16 @@ NESTED BLOCKS
   width: 0;
 }
 
+/* A block with a line box, so native inserts into an empty inline source land inside it, and native deletions that empty it don't remove it (#3234). */
+.bn-inline-content-section
+  .bn-code-block-source-popup-body
+  > pre
+  > code
+  > [data-node-view-content-react] {
+  display: block;
+  min-height: 1.5em;
+}
+
 .bn-code-block-source-popup-input-empty::before {
   color: currentColor;
   content: attr(data-placeholder);
diff --git a/packages/math-block/src/inlineContent/emptySourceInput.browser.test.tsx b/packages/math-block/src/inlineContent/emptySourceInput.browser.test.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..c149bd0be5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/math-block/src/inlineContent/emptySourceInput.browser.test.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+import "@blocknote/core/style.css";
+
+import { BlockNoteEditor, BlockNoteSchema } from "@blocknote/core";
+import { BlockNoteViewRaw } from "@blocknote/react";
+import { flushSync } from "react-dom";
+import { createRoot } from "react-dom/client";
+import { expect, it, vi } from "vite-plus/test";
+import { userEvent } from "vite-plus/test/browser";
+
+import { getMathSlashMenuItems } from "../getMathSlashMenuItems.js";
+import { en } from "../i18n/locales/en.js";
+import { createReactInlineMathSpec } from "./createReactMathInlineContentSpec.js";
+
+const schema = BlockNoteSchema.create().extend({
+  inlineContentSpecs: { math: createReactInlineMathSpec() },
+});
+
+// Dead keys (`^` on AZERTY) and IME commits insert text natively, like this.
+function insertTextNatively(text: string) {
+  document.execCommand("insertText", false, text);
+}
+
+it.each([
+  // Without the CSS line box, Chromium & WebKit insert outside the source.
+  { name: "an empty source", typedFirst: "", deleteNatively: false },
+  // `MathInlinePreviewWithPopup` trims the source, so " " used to render the
+  // React `<br>` next to non-empty DOM, which Firefox removed while inserting.
+  { name: "a whitespace-only source", typedFirst: " ", deleteNatively: false },
+  // Like Option+Backspace. Chromium used to also remove the source's inline
+  // ancestors, which tiptap ignores as outside the content DOM.
+  {
+    name: "a source emptied by a native deletion",
+    typedFirst: "hello",
+    deleteNatively: true,
+  },
+])(
+  "natively inserts text into $name (#3234)",
+  async ({ typedFirst, deleteNatively }) => {
+    const editor = BlockNoteEditor.create({
+      schema,
+      trailingBlock: false,
+      initialContent: [{ id: "paragraph", type: "paragraph" }],
+    });
+    const host = document.createElement("div");
+    document.body.append(host);
+    const root = createRoot(host);
+
+    function getMathSource() {
+      let source: string | undefined;
+      editor.prosemirrorState.doc.descendants((node) => {
+        if (node.type.name === "math") {
+          source = node.textContent;
+        }
+      });
+      return source;
+    }
+
+    try {
+      flushSync(() => {
+        root.render(<BlockNoteViewRaw editor={editor} />);
+      });
+      editor.setTextCursorPosition("paragraph", "end");
+      editor.focus();
+
+      // Inserts the equation the way the slash menu does, which also moves the
+      // caret into its source.
+      const item = getMathSlashMenuItems(editor).find(
+        (item) => item.title === en.slash_menu.inline_math.title,
+      );
+      if (!item) {
+        throw new Error("Inline math slash menu item not found");
+      }
+      item.onItemClick();
+      // The item opens the popup in an animation frame, which headless WebKit
+      // sometimes delays past `waitFor`'s default 1s.
+      const pre = await vi.waitFor(
+        () => {
+          const pre = host.querySelector(
+            ".bn-preview-with-source-popup[data-open='true'] pre",
+          );
+          if (!pre) {
+            throw new Error("The source popup isn't open yet");
+          }
+          return pre;
+        },
+        { timeout: 5000 },
+      );
+
+      if (typedFirst) {
+        await userEvent.keyboard(typedFirst);
+        await vi.waitFor(() => expect(getMathSource()).toBe(typedFirst));
+      }
+
+      if (deleteNatively) {
+        // Deletes the word natively (Option+Backspace on macOS; the suite runs
+        // on Linux).
+        await userEvent.keyboard("{Control>}{Backspace}{/Control}");
+        await vi.waitFor(() => expect(getMathSource()).toBe(""));
+      }
+
+      insertTextNatively("^");
+
+      const expected = (deleteNatively ? "" : typedFirst) + "^";
+      await vi.waitFor(() =>
+        expect(getMathSource(), pre.innerHTML).toBe(expected),
+      );
+      expect(editor.prosemirrorView?.dom.isConnected).toBe(true);
+    } finally {
+      root.unmount();
+      editor._tiptapEditor.destroy();
+      host.remove();
+    }
+  },
+);
diff --git a/packages/react/src/blocks/SourceWithPreview/SourceWithPreview.tsx b/packages/react/src/blocks/SourceWithPreview/SourceWithPreview.tsx
index 9286327f83..d01f9907b0 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/blocks/SourceWithPreview/SourceWithPreview.tsx
+++ b/packages/react/src/blocks/SourceWithPreview/SourceWithPreview.tsx
@@ -206,9 +206,6 @@ export const SourceWithPreview = (
               aria-invalid={error ? true : undefined}
               aria-describedby={error ? errorId : undefined}
             />
-            {inline && source.length === 0 && (
-              <br aria-hidden="true" contentEditable={false} />
-            )}
           </pre>
           <div
             className="bn-code-block-source-popup-ok-button-wrapper"