diff --git a/app/models/reaction.rb b/app/models/reaction.rb
index 49b3a03ad..66445d6b5 100644
--- a/app/models/reaction.rb
+++ b/app/models/reaction.rb
@@ -42,6 +42,7 @@ class Reaction < ApplicationRecord
       .or(user_vomits.where(user_id: user.id))
   }
   scope :privileged_category, -> { where(category: PRIVILEGED_CATEGORIES) }
+  scope :for_user, ->(user) { where(reactable: user) }
 
   validates :category, inclusion: { in: CATEGORIES }
   validates :reactable_type, inclusion: { in: REACTABLE_TYPES }
diff --git a/app/models/user.rb b/app/models/user.rb
index e476eb675..f08a99045 100644
--- a/app/models/user.rb
+++ b/app/models/user.rb
@@ -536,6 +536,10 @@ class User < ApplicationRecord
     notification_setting.email_follower_notifications
   end
 
+  def reactions_to
+    Reaction.for_user(self)
+  end
+
   protected
 
   # Send emails asynchronously
diff --git a/app/services/users/delete_activity.rb b/app/services/users/delete_activity.rb
index 963e45fed..3041df770 100644
--- a/app/services/users/delete_activity.rb
+++ b/app/services/users/delete_activity.rb
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ module Users
     def delete_profile_info(user)
       user.notifications.delete_all
       user.reactions.delete_all
+      user.reactions_to.delete_all
       user.follows.delete_all
       Follow.followable_user(user.id).delete_all
       user.mentions.delete_all
diff --git a/lib/data_update_scripts/20211209213849_remove_dangling_user_reactions.rb b/lib/data_update_scripts/20211209213849_remove_dangling_user_reactions.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cb497f6a4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/data_update_scripts/20211209213849_remove_dangling_user_reactions.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
+module DataUpdateScripts
+  class RemoveDanglingUserReactions
+    def run
+      # reactions to users who have been deleted should be removed:
+      Reaction
+        .where(reactable_type: "User")
+        .where.not(reactable_id: User.all.select(:id))
+        .delete_all
+    end
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/factories/reactions.rb b/spec/factories/reactions.rb
index 3b796186a..955bf07cf 100644
--- a/spec/factories/reactions.rb
+++ b/spec/factories/reactions.rb
@@ -22,7 +22,7 @@ FactoryBot.define do
   end
 
   factory :vomit_reaction, class: "Reaction" do
-    user
+    user { create(:user, :trusted) }
     association :reactable, factory: :article
     category { "vomit" }
 
diff --git a/spec/lib/data_update_scripts/remove_dangling_user_reactions_spec.rb b/spec/lib/data_update_scripts/remove_dangling_user_reactions_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d3b20a6e3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/lib/data_update_scripts/remove_dangling_user_reactions_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,19 @@
+require "rails_helper"
+require Rails.root.join(
+  "lib/data_update_scripts/20211209213849_remove_dangling_user_reactions.rb",
+)
+
+describe DataUpdateScripts::RemoveDanglingUserReactions do
+  let(:user_to_delete) { create(:user) }
+
+  before do
+    create(:vomit_reaction, reactable: user_to_delete)
+
+    # there's no dependent callback on reactions_to so the reaction is not removed
+    user_to_delete.destroy
+  end
+
+  it "removes reactions to deleted users" do
+    expect { described_class.new.run }.to change(Reaction, :count).by(-1)
+  end
+end
diff --git a/spec/services/users/delete_spec.rb b/spec/services/users/delete_spec.rb
index 0b357a11e..7d7e184d6 100644
--- a/spec/services/users/delete_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/services/users/delete_spec.rb
@@ -68,6 +68,14 @@ RSpec.describe Users::Delete, type: :service do
     end.to change(FieldTest::Membership, :count).by(-1)
   end
 
+  it "deletes reactions to the user" do
+    create(:vomit_reaction, reactable: user)
+
+    expect do
+      described_class.call(user)
+    end.to change(Reaction, :count).by(-1)
+  end
+
   # check that all the associated records are being destroyed,
   # except for those that are kept explicitly (kept_associations)
   describe "deleting associations" do