diff --git a/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/drawer/baseFields.ts b/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/drawer/baseFields.ts
index 335abe4e21..a7a34df2fb 100644
--- a/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/drawer/baseFields.ts
+++ b/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/drawer/baseFields.ts
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ export const getBaseFields = (
       .map(({ slug }) => slug)
   }
 
-  const baseFields = [
+  const baseFields: Field[] = [
     {
       name: 'text',
       type: 'text',
@@ -40,63 +40,49 @@ export const getBaseFields = (
       required: true,
     },
     {
-      name: 'fields',
-      type: 'group',
+      name: 'linkType',
+      type: 'radio',
       admin: {
-        style: {
-          borderBottom: 0,
-          borderTop: 0,
-          margin: 0,
-          padding: 0,
-        },
+        description: ({ t }) => t('fields:chooseBetweenCustomTextOrDocument'),
       },
-      fields: [
+      defaultValue: 'custom',
+      label: ({ t }) => t('fields:linkType'),
+      options: [
         {
-          name: 'linkType',
-          type: 'radio',
-          admin: {
-            description: ({ t }) => t('fields:chooseBetweenCustomTextOrDocument'),
-          },
-          defaultValue: 'custom',
-          label: ({ t }) => t('fields:linkType'),
-          options: [
-            {
-              label: ({ t }) => t('fields:customURL'),
-              value: 'custom',
-            },
-          ],
-          required: true,
+          label: ({ t }) => t('fields:customURL'),
+          value: 'custom',
         },
-        {
-          name: 'url',
-          type: 'text',
-          label: ({ t }) => t('fields:enterURL'),
-          required: true,
-          validate: (value: string) => {
-            if (!validateUrl(value)) {
-              return 'Invalid URL'
-            }
-          },
-        },
-      ] as Field[],
+      ],
+      required: true,
+    } as RadioField,
+    {
+      name: 'url',
+      type: 'text',
+      label: ({ t }) => t('fields:enterURL'),
+      required: true,
+      validate: (value: string) => {
+        if (!validateUrl(value)) {
+          return 'Invalid URL'
+        }
+      },
     },
   ]
 
   // Only display internal link-specific fields / options / conditions if there are enabled relations
   if (enabledRelations?.length) {
-    ;(baseFields[1].fields[0] as RadioField).options.push({
+    ;(baseFields[1] as RadioField).options.push({
       label: ({ t }) => t('fields:internalLink'),
       value: 'internal',
     })
-    ;(baseFields[1].fields[1] as TextField).admin = {
-      condition: ({ fields }) => fields?.linkType !== 'internal',
+    ;(baseFields[2] as TextField).admin = {
+      condition: ({ linkType }) => linkType !== 'internal',
     }
 
-    baseFields[1].fields.push({
+    baseFields.push({
       name: 'doc',
       admin: {
-        condition: ({ fields }) => {
-          return fields?.linkType === 'internal'
+        condition: ({ linkType }) => {
+          return linkType === 'internal'
         },
       },
       // when admin.hidden is a function we need to dynamically call hidden with the user to know if the collection should be shown
@@ -116,7 +102,7 @@ export const getBaseFields = (
     })
   }
 
-  baseFields[1].fields.push({
+  baseFields.push({
     name: 'newTab',
     type: 'checkbox',
     label: ({ t }) => t('fields:openInNewTab'),
diff --git a/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/drawer/types.ts b/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/drawer/types.ts
index 027345762a..d5bcf260fd 100644
--- a/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/drawer/types.ts
+++ b/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/drawer/types.ts
@@ -1,9 +1,9 @@
 import type { FormState } from 'payload/types'
 
-import type { LinkPayload } from '../plugins/floatingLinkEditor/types.js'
+import type { LinkFields } from '../nodes/types.js'
 
 export interface Props {
   drawerSlug: string
   handleModalSubmit: (fields: FormState, data: Record<string, unknown>) => void
-  stateData?: LinkPayload
+  stateData?: LinkFields & { text: string }
 }
diff --git a/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/plugins/floatingLinkEditor/LinkEditor/index.tsx b/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/plugins/floatingLinkEditor/LinkEditor/index.tsx
index e7da1b76d8..909e58798f 100644
--- a/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/plugins/floatingLinkEditor/LinkEditor/index.tsx
+++ b/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/plugins/floatingLinkEditor/LinkEditor/index.tsx
@@ -23,6 +23,7 @@ import {
 import React, { useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react'
 
 import type { LinkNode } from '../../../nodes/LinkNode.js'
+import type { LinkFields } from '../../../nodes/types.js'
 import type { LinkPayload } from '../types.js'
 
 import { useEditorConfigContext } from '../../../../../lexical/config/client/EditorConfigProvider.js'
@@ -40,8 +41,8 @@ export function LinkEditor({ anchorElem }: { anchorElem: HTMLElement }): React.R
   const [editor] = useLexicalComposerContext()
 
   const editorRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement | null>(null)
-  const [linkUrl, setLinkUrl] = useState('')
-  const [linkLabel, setLinkLabel] = useState('')
+  const [linkUrl, setLinkUrl] = useState(null)
+  const [linkLabel, setLinkLabel] = useState(null)
 
   const { uuid } = useEditorConfigContext()
 
@@ -49,7 +50,7 @@ export function LinkEditor({ anchorElem }: { anchorElem: HTMLElement }): React.R
 
   const { i18n, t } = useTranslation()
 
-  const [stateData, setStateData] = useState<LinkPayload>(null)
+  const [stateData, setStateData] = useState<LinkFields & { text: string }>(null)
 
   const { closeModal, toggleModal } = useModal()
   const editDepth = useEditDepth()
@@ -88,27 +89,25 @@ export function LinkEditor({ anchorElem }: { anchorElem: HTMLElement }): React.R
       if (focusLinkParent == null || badNode) {
         setIsLink(false)
         setIsAutoLink(false)
-        setLinkUrl('')
-        setLinkLabel('')
+        setLinkUrl(null)
+        setLinkLabel(null)
         setSelectedNodes([])
         return
       }
 
       // Initial state:
-      const data: LinkPayload = {
-        fields: {
-          doc: undefined,
-          linkType: undefined,
-          newTab: undefined,
-          url: '',
-          ...focusLinkParent.getFields(),
-        },
+      const data: LinkFields & { text: string } = {
+        doc: undefined,
+        linkType: undefined,
+        newTab: undefined,
+        url: '',
+        ...focusLinkParent.getFields(),
         text: focusLinkParent.getTextContent(),
       }
 
       if (focusLinkParent.getFields()?.linkType === 'custom') {
-        setLinkUrl(focusLinkParent.getFields()?.url ?? '')
-        setLinkLabel('')
+        setLinkUrl(focusLinkParent.getFields()?.url ?? null)
+        setLinkLabel(null)
       } else {
         // internal link
         setLinkUrl(
@@ -120,10 +119,21 @@ export function LinkEditor({ anchorElem }: { anchorElem: HTMLElement }): React.R
         const relatedField = config.collections.find(
           (coll) => coll.slug === focusLinkParent.getFields()?.doc?.relationTo,
         )
-        const label = t('fields:linkedTo', {
-          label: getTranslation(relatedField.labels.singular, i18n),
-        }).replace(/<[^>]*>?/g, '')
-        setLinkLabel(label)
+        if (!relatedField) {
+          // Usually happens if the user removed all default fields. In this case, we let them specify the label or do not display the label at all.
+          // label could be a virtual field the user added. This is useful if they want to use the link feature for things other than links.
+          setLinkLabel(
+            focusLinkParent.getFields()?.label ? String(focusLinkParent.getFields()?.label) : null,
+          )
+          setLinkUrl(
+            focusLinkParent.getFields()?.url ? String(focusLinkParent.getFields()?.url) : null,
+          )
+        } else {
+          const label = t('fields:linkedTo', {
+            label: getTranslation(relatedField.labels.singular, i18n),
+          }).replace(/<[^>]*>?/g, '')
+          setLinkLabel(label)
+        }
       }
 
       setStateData(data)
@@ -167,8 +177,8 @@ export function LinkEditor({ anchorElem }: { anchorElem: HTMLElement }): React.R
       if (rootElement !== null) {
         setFloatingElemPositionForLinkEditor(null, editorElem, anchorElem)
       }
-      setLinkUrl('')
-      setLinkLabel('')
+      setLinkUrl(null)
+      setLinkLabel(null)
     }
 
     return true
@@ -264,9 +274,14 @@ export function LinkEditor({ anchorElem }: { anchorElem: HTMLElement }): React.R
     <React.Fragment>
       <div className="link-editor" ref={editorRef}>
         <div className="link-input">
-          <a href={linkUrl} rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
-            {linkLabel != null && linkLabel.length > 0 ? linkLabel : linkUrl}
-          </a>
+          {linkUrl && linkUrl.length > 0 ? (
+            <a href={linkUrl} rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">
+              {linkLabel != null && linkLabel.length > 0 ? linkLabel : linkUrl}
+            </a>
+          ) : linkLabel != null && linkLabel.length > 0 ? (
+            <span className="link-input__label-pure">{linkLabel}</span>
+          ) : null}
+
           {editor.isEditable() && (
             <React.Fragment>
               <button
@@ -304,9 +319,12 @@ export function LinkEditor({ anchorElem }: { anchorElem: HTMLElement }): React.R
         handleModalSubmit={(fields: FormState, data: Data) => {
           closeModal(drawerSlug)
 
-          const newLinkPayload: LinkPayload = data as LinkPayload
+          const newLinkPayload = data as LinkFields & { text: string }
 
-          newLinkPayload.selectedNodes = selectedNodes
+          const bareLinkFields: LinkFields = {
+            ...newLinkPayload,
+          }
+          delete bareLinkFields.text
 
           // See: https://github.com/facebook/lexical/pull/5536. This updates autolink nodes to link nodes whenever a change was made (which is good!).
           editor.update(() => {
@@ -322,7 +340,7 @@ export function LinkEditor({ anchorElem }: { anchorElem: HTMLElement }): React.R
 
             if (linkParent && $isAutoLinkNode(linkParent)) {
               const linkNode = $createLinkNode({
-                fields: newLinkPayload.fields,
+                fields: bareLinkFields,
               })
               linkParent.replace(linkNode, true)
             }
@@ -330,7 +348,11 @@ export function LinkEditor({ anchorElem }: { anchorElem: HTMLElement }): React.R
 
           // Needs to happen AFTER a potential auto link => link node conversion, as otherwise, the updated text to display may be lost due to
           // it being applied to the auto link node instead of the link node.
-          editor.dispatchCommand(TOGGLE_LINK_COMMAND, newLinkPayload)
+          editor.dispatchCommand(TOGGLE_LINK_COMMAND, {
+            fields: bareLinkFields,
+            selectedNodes,
+            text: newLinkPayload.text,
+          })
         }}
         stateData={stateData}
       />
diff --git a/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/plugins/floatingLinkEditor/index.scss b/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/plugins/floatingLinkEditor/index.scss
index 9f801f06e5..b153979032 100644
--- a/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/plugins/floatingLinkEditor/index.scss
+++ b/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/plugins/floatingLinkEditor/index.scss
@@ -36,12 +36,20 @@ html[data-theme='light'] {
     position: relative;
     font-family: var(--font-body);
 
+    &__label-pure {
+      color: var(--color-base-1000);
+      margin-right: 15px;
+      display: block;
+      white-space: nowrap;
+      overflow: hidden;
+    }
+
     a {
       text-decoration: none;
       display: block;
       white-space: nowrap;
       overflow: hidden;
-      margin-right: 30px;
+      margin-right: 15px;
       text-overflow: ellipsis;
       color: var(--color-blue-600);
       border-bottom: 1px dotted;
diff --git a/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/plugins/floatingLinkEditor/utilities.ts b/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/plugins/floatingLinkEditor/utilities.ts
index 1b17699164..74e158e935 100644
--- a/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/plugins/floatingLinkEditor/utilities.ts
+++ b/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/plugins/floatingLinkEditor/utilities.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,11 @@
 import type { SanitizedConfig } from 'payload/config'
-import type { Field, FieldWithRichTextRequiredEditor, GroupField } from 'payload/types'
+import type { FieldWithRichTextRequiredEditor } from 'payload/types'
 
 import { getBaseFields } from '../../drawer/baseFields.js'
 
 /**
  * This function is run to enrich the basefields which every link has with potential, custom user-added fields.
  */
-// eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/require-await
 export function transformExtraFields(
   customFieldSchema:
     | ((args: {
@@ -17,50 +16,22 @@ export function transformExtraFields(
   config: SanitizedConfig,
   enabledCollections?: false | string[],
   disabledCollections?: false | string[],
-): Field[] {
+): FieldWithRichTextRequiredEditor[] {
   const baseFields: FieldWithRichTextRequiredEditor[] = getBaseFields(
     config,
     enabledCollections,
     disabledCollections,
   )
 
-  const fields =
-    typeof customFieldSchema === 'function'
-      ? customFieldSchema({ config, defaultFields: baseFields })
-      : baseFields
+  let fields: FieldWithRichTextRequiredEditor[]
 
-  // Wrap fields which are not part of the base schema in a group named 'fields' - otherwise they will be rendered but not saved
-  const extraFields = []
-  for (let i = fields.length - 1; i >= 0; i--) {
-    const field = fields[i]
-
-    if ('name' in field) {
-      if (
-        !baseFields.find((baseField) => !('name' in baseField) || baseField.name === field.name)
-      ) {
-        if (field.name !== 'fields' && field.type !== 'group') {
-          extraFields.push(field)
-          // Remove from fields from now, as they need to be part of the fields group below
-          fields.splice(fields.indexOf(field), 1)
-        }
-      }
-    }
+  if (typeof customFieldSchema === 'function') {
+    fields = customFieldSchema({ config, defaultFields: baseFields })
+  } else if (Array.isArray(customFieldSchema)) {
+    fields = customFieldSchema
+  } else {
+    fields = baseFields
   }
 
-  if (Array.isArray(customFieldSchema) || fields.length > 0) {
-    // find field with name 'fields' and add the extra fields to it
-    const fieldsField: GroupField = fields.find(
-      (field) => field.type === 'group' && field.name === 'fields',
-    ) as GroupField
-    if (!fieldsField) {
-      throw new Error(
-        'Could not find field with name "fields". This is required to add fields to the link field.',
-      )
-    }
-    fieldsField.fields = Array.isArray(fieldsField.fields) ? fieldsField.fields : []
-    fieldsField.fields.push(
-      ...(Array.isArray(customFieldSchema) ? customFieldSchema.concat(extraFields) : extraFields),
-    )
-  }
   return fields
 }
diff --git a/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/populationPromise.ts b/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/populationPromise.ts
index 010f56e669..6c138da7f6 100644
--- a/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/populationPromise.ts
+++ b/packages/richtext-lexical/src/field/features/link/populationPromise.ts
@@ -32,9 +32,7 @@ export const linkPopulationPromiseHOC = (
       recurseNestedFields({
         context,
         currentDepth,
-        data: {
-          fields: node.fields,
-        },
+        data: node.fields,
         depth,
         editorPopulationPromises,
         fieldPromises,
@@ -45,9 +43,7 @@ export const linkPopulationPromiseHOC = (
         populationPromises,
         req,
         showHiddenFields,
-        siblingDoc: {
-          fields: node.fields,
-        },
+        siblingDoc: node.fields,
       })
     }
   }
diff --git a/test/buildConfigWithDefaults.ts b/test/buildConfigWithDefaults.ts
index c9a4e28695..6d03e201aa 100644
--- a/test/buildConfigWithDefaults.ts
+++ b/test/buildConfigWithDefaults.ts
@@ -82,7 +82,8 @@ export async function buildConfigWithDefaults(
         ParagraphFeature(),
         RelationshipFeature(),
         LinkFeature({
-          fields: [
+          fields: ({ defaultFields }) => [
+            ...defaultFields,
             {
               name: 'description',
               type: 'text',
diff --git a/test/fields/collections/Lexical/e2e.spec.ts b/test/fields/collections/Lexical/e2e.spec.ts
index 4773acbbca..4a35938e39 100644
--- a/test/fields/collections/Lexical/e2e.spec.ts
+++ b/test/fields/collections/Lexical/e2e.spec.ts
@@ -520,7 +520,7 @@ describe('lexical', () => {
       const drawerContent = page.locator('.drawer__content').first()
       await expect(drawerContent).toBeVisible()
 
-      const urlField = drawerContent.locator('input#field-fields__url').first()
+      const urlField = drawerContent.locator('input#field-url').first()
       await expect(urlField).toBeVisible()
       // Fill with https://www.payloadcms.com
       await urlField.fill('https://www.payloadcms.com')
diff --git a/test/fields/collections/Lexical/index.ts b/test/fields/collections/Lexical/index.ts
index c360a96d28..cc92bfa5d2 100644
--- a/test/fields/collections/Lexical/index.ts
+++ b/test/fields/collections/Lexical/index.ts
@@ -72,7 +72,8 @@ export const LexicalFields: CollectionConfig = {
           TreeViewFeature(),
           //HTMLConverterFeature(),
           LinkFeature({
-            fields: [
+            fields: ({ defaultFields }) => [
+              ...defaultFields,
               {
                 name: 'rel',
                 label: 'Rel Attribute',
diff --git a/test/fields/collections/LexicalMigrate/index.ts b/test/fields/collections/LexicalMigrate/index.ts
index 832d9b6975..5132ecfd4d 100644
--- a/test/fields/collections/LexicalMigrate/index.ts
+++ b/test/fields/collections/LexicalMigrate/index.ts
@@ -39,7 +39,8 @@ export const LexicalMigrateFields: CollectionConfig = {
           TreeViewFeature(),
           HTMLConverterFeature(),
           LinkFeature({
-            fields: [
+            fields: ({ defaultFields }) => [
+              ...defaultFields,
               {
                 name: 'rel',
                 label: 'Rel Attribute',
@@ -79,7 +80,8 @@ export const LexicalMigrateFields: CollectionConfig = {
           TreeViewFeature(),
           HTMLConverterFeature(),
           LinkFeature({
-            fields: [
+            fields: ({ defaultFields }) => [
+              ...defaultFields,
               {
                 name: 'rel',
                 label: 'Rel Attribute',
diff --git a/test/fields/collections/RichText/index.ts b/test/fields/collections/RichText/index.ts
index 159256646a..965303762c 100644
--- a/test/fields/collections/RichText/index.ts
+++ b/test/fields/collections/RichText/index.ts
@@ -38,7 +38,8 @@ const RichTextFields: CollectionConfig = {
           TreeViewFeature(),
           HTMLConverterFeature({}),
           LinkFeature({
-            fields: [
+            fields: ({ defaultFields }) => [
+              ...defaultFields,
               {
                 name: 'rel',
                 label: 'Rel Attribute',