diff --git a/docs/changes.txt b/docs/changes.txt
index 9ece7eb97e..ad02856376 100644
--- a/docs/changes.txt
+++ b/docs/changes.txt
@@ -380,6 +380,7 @@ wxMSW:
 - Fix drawing owner-drawn menu items with bitmaps (Jacob Gillespie, #23230).
 - Improve ScrollTo() with wxDV_VARIABLE_LINE_HEIGHT (Jens Göpfert, #23102).
 - Fix libraries names in Arch64 CMake build (Tobias Taschner, #23347).
+- Fix using wxComboCtrl with AUI floating pane as parent (#23399).
 
 wxOSX:
 
diff --git a/include/wx/combo.h b/include/wx/combo.h
index 727c26ecb9..e44a72b86d 100644
--- a/include/wx/combo.h
+++ b/include/wx/combo.h
@@ -455,6 +455,9 @@ public:
     // common code to be called on popup hide/dismiss
     void OnPopupDismiss(bool generateEvent);
 
+    // called if popup is destroyed not by wxComboCtrl itself
+    void OnPopupDestroy();
+
     // PopupShown states
     enum
     {
diff --git a/src/common/combocmn.cpp b/src/common/combocmn.cpp
index 80408c6677..98f1d584c9 100644
--- a/src/common/combocmn.cpp
+++ b/src/common/combocmn.cpp
@@ -351,6 +351,46 @@ protected:
     virtual void OnDismiss() wxOVERRIDE;
 #endif
 
+#ifdef __WXMSW__
+    virtual bool MSWHandleMessage(WXLRESULT *result,
+                                  WXUINT message,
+                                  WXWPARAM wParam,
+                                  WXLPARAM lParam) wxOVERRIDE
+    {
+        // This is a workaround for a MSW-specific problem: popup windows are
+        // created with the TLW and not the combobox itself as their parent and
+        // so if the TLW gets destroyed, they're destroyed together with it,
+        // but the associated wxComboCtrl may survive if it gets reparented to
+        // something else, which is exactly what happens when it's used inside
+        // a wxAUI pane. And if this wxComboCtrl is opened again later, it
+        // tries to use the existing popup whose HWND had been destroyed, which
+        // doesn't work at all.
+        //
+        // To prevent this from happening, we delete the popup if this happens
+        // to force recreating it later.
+        if ( message == WM_DESTROY && !m_isBeingDeleted )
+        {
+            m_combo->OnPopupDestroy();
+
+            // We can't delete it immediately because this object is used after
+            // this function returns, so do it slightly later.
+            wxWindow* const self = this;
+            m_combo->CallAfter([self]()
+            {
+                // Before really deleting it, reset the HWND which had been
+                // already destroyed, to prevent us from trying to destroy it
+                // again (which would just fail with an error).
+                self->DissociateHandle();
+
+                delete self;
+            });
+        }
+
+        return wxComboPopupWindowBase::MSWHandleMessage(result, message,
+                                                        wParam, lParam);
+    }
+#endif // __WXMSW__
+
 private:
     // This is the same as our parent, but has the right type, so that we can
     // avoid using casts later.
@@ -2367,6 +2407,14 @@ void wxComboCtrlBase::HidePopup(bool generateEvent)
     OnPopupDismiss(generateEvent);
 }
 
+void wxComboCtrlBase::OnPopupDestroy()
+{
+    m_winPopup = NULL;
+
+    delete m_popupInterface;
+    m_popupInterface = NULL;
+}
+
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 // customization methods
 // ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
diff --git a/src/generic/odcombo.cpp b/src/generic/odcombo.cpp
index 4651b7ebf8..7131ba5fe6 100644
--- a/src/generic/odcombo.cpp
+++ b/src/generic/odcombo.cpp
@@ -990,7 +990,6 @@ void wxOwnerDrawnComboBox::DoSetPopupControl(wxComboPopup* popup)
     if ( !GetVListBoxComboPopup()->GetCount() )
     {
         GetVListBoxComboPopup()->Populate(m_initChs);
-        m_initChs.Clear();
     }
 }