diff --git a/packages/react/src/components/navigation/IonTabBar.tsx b/packages/react/src/components/navigation/IonTabBar.tsx
index f1a66440fcd..92fde774ddd 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/components/navigation/IonTabBar.tsx
+++ b/packages/react/src/components/navigation/IonTabBar.tsx
@@ -8,6 +8,8 @@ import { IonTabBarInner } from '../inner-proxies';
 import { createForwardRef } from '../utils';
 
 import { IonTabButton } from './IonTabButton';
+import { IonTabsContext } from './IonTabsContext';
+import type { IonTabsContextState } from './IonTabsContext';
 
 type IonTabBarProps = LocalJSX.IonTabBar &
   IonicReactProps & {
@@ -21,7 +23,7 @@ interface InternalProps extends IonTabBarProps {
   forwardedRef?: React.ForwardedRef<HTMLIonIconElement>;
   onSetCurrentTab: (tab: string, routeInfo: RouteInfo) => void;
   routeInfo: RouteInfo;
-  routerOutletRef?: React.RefObject<HTMLIonRouterOutletElement> | undefined;
+  tabsContext?: IonTabsContextState;
 }
 
 interface TabUrls {
@@ -183,12 +185,14 @@ class IonTabBarUnwrapped extends React.PureComponent<InternalProps, IonTabBarSta
   ) {
     const tappedTab = this.state.tabs[e.detail.tab];
     const originalHref = tappedTab.originalHref;
+    const hasRouterOutlet = this.props.tabsContext?.hasRouterOutlet;
+
     /**
      * If the router outlet is not defined, then the tabs is being used
      * as a basic tab navigation without the router. In this case, we
      * don't want to update the href else the URL will change.
      */
-    const currentHref = this.props.routerOutletRef?.current ? e.detail.href : '';
+    const currentHref = hasRouterOutlet ? e.detail.href : '';
     const { activeTab: prevActiveTab } = this.state;
 
     if (onClickFn) {
@@ -212,7 +216,7 @@ class IonTabBarUnwrapped extends React.PureComponent<InternalProps, IonTabBarSta
       if (this.props.onIonTabsDidChange) {
         this.props.onIonTabsDidChange(new CustomEvent('ionTabDidChange', { detail: { tab: e.detail.tab } }));
       }
-      if (this.props.routerOutletRef?.current) {
+      if (hasRouterOutlet) {
         this.setActiveTabOnContext(e.detail.tab);
         this.context.changeTab(e.detail.tab, currentHref, e.detail.routeOptions);
       }
@@ -262,12 +266,29 @@ class IonTabBarUnwrapped extends React.PureComponent<InternalProps, IonTabBarSta
 
 const IonTabBarContainer: React.FC<InternalProps> = React.memo<InternalProps>(({ forwardedRef, ...props }) => {
   const context = useContext(NavContext);
+  const tabsContext = useContext(IonTabsContext);
+  const tabBarRef = forwardedRef || tabsContext.tabBarProps.ref;
+  const updatedTabBarProps = {
+    ...tabsContext.tabBarProps,
+    ref: tabBarRef,
+  };
+
   return (
     <IonTabBarUnwrapped
-      ref={forwardedRef}
+      ref={tabBarRef}
       {...(props as any)}
       routeInfo={props.routeInfo || context.routeInfo || { pathname: window.location.pathname }}
       onSetCurrentTab={context.setCurrentTab}
+      /**
+       * Tab bar can be used as a standalone component,
+       * so it cannot be modified directly through
+       * IonTabs. Instead, props will be passed through
+       * the context.
+       */
+      tabsContext={{
+        ...tabsContext,
+        tabBarProps: updatedTabBarProps,
+      }}
     >
       {props.children}
     </IonTabBarUnwrapped>
diff --git a/packages/react/src/components/navigation/IonTabs.tsx b/packages/react/src/components/navigation/IonTabs.tsx
index e80e09ac159..a7a8a250bf2 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/components/navigation/IonTabs.tsx
+++ b/packages/react/src/components/navigation/IonTabs.tsx
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@ import { IonRouterOutlet } from '../IonRouterOutlet';
 import { IonTabsInner } from '../inner-proxies';
 import { IonTab } from '../proxies';
 
-import { IonTabBar } from './IonTabBar';
 import type { IonTabsContextState } from './IonTabsContext';
 import { IonTabsContext } from './IonTabsContext';
 
@@ -43,28 +42,15 @@ interface Props extends LocalJSX.IonTabs {
   children: ChildFunction | React.ReactNode;
 }
 
-const hostStyles: React.CSSProperties = {
-  display: 'flex',
-  position: 'absolute',
-  top: '0',
-  left: '0',
-  right: '0',
-  bottom: '0',
-  flexDirection: 'column',
-  width: '100%',
-  height: '100%',
-  contain: 'layout size style',
-};
-
-const tabsInner: React.CSSProperties = {
-  position: 'relative',
-  flex: 1,
-  contain: 'layout size style',
-};
-
 export const IonTabs = /*@__PURE__*/ (() =>
   class extends React.Component<Props> {
     context!: React.ContextType<typeof NavContext>;
+    /**
+     * `routerOutletRef` allows users to add a `ref` to `IonRouterOutlet`.
+     * Without this, `ref.current` will be `undefined` in the user's app,
+     * breaking their ability to access the `IonRouterOutlet` instance.
+     * Do not remove this ref.
+     */
     routerOutletRef: React.Ref<HTMLIonRouterOutletElement> = React.createRef();
     selectTabHandler?: (tag: string) => boolean;
     tabBarRef = React.createRef<any>();
@@ -72,6 +58,14 @@ export const IonTabs = /*@__PURE__*/ (() =>
     ionTabContextState: IonTabsContextState = {
       activeTab: undefined,
       selectTab: () => false,
+      hasRouterOutlet: false,
+      /**
+       * Tab bar can be used as a standalone component,
+       * so the props can not be passed directly to the
+       * tab bar component. Instead, props will be
+       * passed through the context.
+       */
+      tabBarProps: { ref: this.tabBarRef },
     };
 
     constructor(props: Props) {
@@ -90,9 +84,32 @@ export const IonTabs = /*@__PURE__*/ (() =>
       }
     }
 
+    renderTabsInner(children: React.ReactNode, outlet: React.ReactElement<{}> | undefined) {
+      return (
+        <IonTabsInner {...this.props}>
+          {React.Children.map(children, (child: React.ReactNode) => {
+            if (React.isValidElement(child)) {
+              const isRouterOutlet =
+                child.type === IonRouterOutlet ||
+                (child.type as any).isRouterOutlet ||
+                (child.type === Fragment && child.props.children[0].type === IonRouterOutlet);
+
+              if (isRouterOutlet) {
+                /**
+                 * The modified outlet needs to be returned to include
+                 * the ref.
+                 */
+                return outlet;
+              }
+            }
+            return child;
+          })}
+        </IonTabsInner>
+      );
+    }
+
     render() {
       let outlet: React.ReactElement<{}> | undefined;
-      let tabBar: React.ReactElement | undefined;
       // Check if IonTabs has any IonTab children
       let hasTab = false;
       const { className, onIonTabsDidChange, onIonTabsWillChange, ...props } = this.props;
@@ -102,19 +119,15 @@ export const IonTabs = /*@__PURE__*/ (() =>
           ? (this.props.children as ChildFunction)(this.ionTabContextState)
           : this.props.children;
 
-      const outletProps = {
-        ref: this.routerOutletRef,
-      };
-
       React.Children.forEach(children, (child: any) => {
         // eslint-disable-next-line no-prototype-builtins
         if (child == null || typeof child !== 'object' || !child.hasOwnProperty('type')) {
           return;
         }
         if (child.type === IonRouterOutlet || child.type.isRouterOutlet) {
-          outlet = React.cloneElement(child, outletProps);
+          outlet = React.cloneElement(child);
         } else if (child.type === Fragment && child.props.children[0].type === IonRouterOutlet) {
-          outlet = React.cloneElement(child.props.children[0], outletProps);
+          outlet = React.cloneElement(child.props.children[0]);
         } else if (child.type === IonTab) {
           /**
            * This indicates that IonTabs will be using a basic tab-based navigation
@@ -123,9 +136,10 @@ export const IonTabs = /*@__PURE__*/ (() =>
           hasTab = true;
         }
 
+        this.ionTabContextState.hasRouterOutlet = !!outlet;
+
         let childProps: any = {
-          ref: this.tabBarRef,
-          routerOutletRef: this.routerOutletRef,
+          ...this.ionTabContextState.tabBarProps,
         };
 
         /**
@@ -149,14 +163,7 @@ export const IonTabs = /*@__PURE__*/ (() =>
           };
         }
 
-        if (child.type === IonTabBar || child.type.isTabBar) {
-          tabBar = React.cloneElement(child, childProps);
-        } else if (
-          child.type === Fragment &&
-          (child.props.children[1].type === IonTabBar || child.props.children[1].type.isTabBar)
-        ) {
-          tabBar = React.cloneElement(child.props.children[1], childProps);
-        }
+        this.ionTabContextState.tabBarProps = childProps;
       });
 
       if (!outlet && !hasTab) {
@@ -186,46 +193,10 @@ export const IonTabs = /*@__PURE__*/ (() =>
         <IonTabsContext.Provider value={this.ionTabContextState}>
           {this.context.hasIonicRouter() ? (
             <PageManager className={className ? `${className}` : ''} routeInfo={this.context.routeInfo} {...props}>
-              <IonTabsInner {...this.props}>
-                {React.Children.map(children, (child: React.ReactNode) => {
-                  if (React.isValidElement(child)) {
-                    const isTabBar =
-                      child.type === IonTabBar ||
-                      (child.type as any).isTabBar ||
-                      (child.type === Fragment &&
-                        (child.props.children[1].type === IonTabBar || child.props.children[1].type.isTabBar));
-                    const isRouterOutlet =
-                      child.type === IonRouterOutlet ||
-                      (child.type as any).isRouterOutlet ||
-                      (child.type === Fragment && child.props.children[0].type === IonRouterOutlet);
-
-                    if (isTabBar) {
-                      /**
-                       * The modified tabBar needs to be returned to include
-                       * the context and the overridden methods.
-                       */
-                      return tabBar;
-                    }
-                    if (isRouterOutlet) {
-                      /**
-                       * The modified outlet needs to be returned to include
-                       * the ref.
-                       */
-                      return outlet;
-                    }
-                  }
-                  return child;
-                })}
-              </IonTabsInner>
+              {this.renderTabsInner(children, outlet)}
             </PageManager>
           ) : (
-            <div className={className ? `${className}` : 'ion-tabs'} {...props} style={hostStyles}>
-              {tabBar?.props.slot === 'top' ? tabBar : null}
-              <div style={tabsInner} className="tabs-inner">
-                {outlet}
-              </div>
-              {tabBar?.props.slot === 'bottom' ? tabBar : null}
-            </div>
+            this.renderTabsInner(children, outlet)
           )}
         </IonTabsContext.Provider>
       );
diff --git a/packages/react/src/components/navigation/IonTabsContext.tsx b/packages/react/src/components/navigation/IonTabsContext.tsx
index e7f9ba2b109..12686bd2ad6 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/components/navigation/IonTabsContext.tsx
+++ b/packages/react/src/components/navigation/IonTabsContext.tsx
@@ -3,9 +3,25 @@ import React from 'react';
 export interface IonTabsContextState {
   activeTab: string | undefined;
   selectTab: (tab: string) => boolean;
+  hasRouterOutlet: boolean;
+  tabBarProps: TabBarProps;
 }
 
+/**
+ * Tab bar can be used as a standalone component,
+ * so the props can not be passed directly to the
+ * tab bar component. Instead, props will be
+ * passed through the context.
+ */
+type TabBarProps = {
+  ref: React.RefObject<any>;
+  onIonTabsWillChange?: (e: CustomEvent) => void;
+  onIonTabsDidChange?: (e: CustomEvent) => void;
+};
+
 export const IonTabsContext = React.createContext<IonTabsContextState>({
   activeTab: undefined,
   selectTab: () => false,
+  hasRouterOutlet: false,
+  tabBarProps: { ref: React.createRef() },
 });