diff --git a/packages/block-library/src/paragraph/edit.js b/packages/block-library/src/paragraph/edit.js
index 0ed9c5c91b5820..99a08309176276 100644
--- a/packages/block-library/src/paragraph/edit.js
+++ b/packages/block-library/src/paragraph/edit.js
@@ -103,8 +103,18 @@ class ParagraphBlock extends Component {
 
 		if ( after !== null ) {
 			// Append "After" content as a new paragraph block to the end of
-			// any other blocks being inserted after the current paragraph.
-			blocks.push( createBlock( name, { content: after } ) );
+			// any other blocks being inserted after the current paragraph
+			if ( after.length ) {
+				// If after has content, keep the new block styling same as current one.
+				const newBlockAttributes = {
+					...attributes,
+					content: after,
+				};
+				blocks.push( createBlock( name, newBlockAttributes ) );
+			} else {
+				// Otherwise, add a default block
+				blocks.push( createBlock( name ) );
+			}
 		}
 
 		if ( blocks.length && insertBlocksAfter ) {
@@ -115,6 +125,9 @@ class ParagraphBlock extends Component {
 		if ( before === null ) {
 			// If before content is omitted, treat as intent to delete block.
 			onReplace( [] );
+		} else if ( before.length === 0 ) {
+			// If before has not content, replace by a default block.
+			onReplace( [ createBlock( name ) ] );
 		} else if ( content !== before ) {
 			// Only update content if it has in-fact changed. In case that user
 			// has created a new paragraph at end of an existing one, the value
diff --git a/packages/block-library/src/paragraph/index.js b/packages/block-library/src/paragraph/index.js
index 6a0c6172c36957..1aea8c113052d5 100644
--- a/packages/block-library/src/paragraph/index.js
+++ b/packages/block-library/src/paragraph/index.js
@@ -212,6 +212,9 @@ export const settings = {
 
 	merge( attributes, attributesToMerge ) {
 		return {
+			backgroundColor: attributes.content.length === 0 ? attributesToMerge.backgroundColor : attributes.backgroundColor,
+			textColor: attributes.content.length === 0 ? attributesToMerge.textColor : attributes.textColor,
+			fontSize: attributes.content.length === 0 ? attributesToMerge.fontSize : attributes.fontSize,
 			content: ( attributes.content || '' ) + ( attributesToMerge.content || '' ),
 		};
 	},