diff --git a/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-comments-list-table.php b/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-comments-list-table.php
index 8ffdddad18..176b16718a 100644
--- a/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-comments-list-table.php
+++ b/src/wp-admin/includes/class-wp-comments-list-table.php
@@ -165,8 +165,6 @@ class WP_Comments_List_Table extends WP_List_Table {
 		$_comments = get_comments( $args );
 
 		if ( is_array( $_comments ) ) {
-			update_comment_cache( $_comments );
-
 			$this->items       = array_slice( $_comments, 0, $comments_per_page );
 			$this->extra_items = array_slice( $_comments, $comments_per_page );
 
diff --git a/src/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php b/src/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php
index 920907906f..cfdf05dbfd 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/class-wp-comment-query.php
@@ -481,12 +481,16 @@ class WP_Comment_Query {
 
 		$comment_ids = array_map( 'intval', $comment_ids );
 
+		if ( $this->query_vars['update_comment_meta_cache'] ) {
+			wp_lazyload_comment_meta( $comment_ids );
+		}
+
 		if ( 'ids' === $this->query_vars['fields'] ) {
 			$this->comments = $comment_ids;
 			return $this->comments;
 		}
 
-		_prime_comment_caches( $comment_ids, $this->query_vars['update_comment_meta_cache'] );
+		_prime_comment_caches( $comment_ids, false );
 
 		// Fetch full comment objects from the primed cache.
 		$_comments = array();
diff --git a/src/wp-includes/class-wp-query.php b/src/wp-includes/class-wp-query.php
index 29380e7df3..c1f43cf271 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/class-wp-query.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/class-wp-query.php
@@ -2813,7 +2813,7 @@ class WP_Query {
 				$comment_ids = $wpdb->get_col( $comments_request );
 				wp_cache_add( $cache_key, $comment_ids, 'comment-queries' );
 			}
-			_prime_comment_caches( $comment_ids, false );
+			_prime_comment_caches( $comment_ids );
 
 			// Convert to WP_Comment.
 			/** @var WP_Comment[] */
@@ -3372,7 +3372,7 @@ class WP_Query {
 				$comment_ids = $wpdb->get_col( $comments_request );
 				wp_cache_add( $comment_cache_key, $comment_ids, 'comment-queries' );
 			}
-			_prime_comment_caches( $comment_ids, false );
+			_prime_comment_caches( $comment_ids );
 
 			// Convert to WP_Comment.
 			/** @var WP_Comment[] */
@@ -3487,11 +3487,6 @@ class WP_Query {
 			}
 		}
 
-		// If comments have been fetched as part of the query, make sure comment meta lazy-loading is set up.
-		if ( ! empty( $this->comments ) ) {
-			wp_queue_comments_for_comment_meta_lazyload( $this->comments );
-		}
-
 		if ( ! $q['suppress_filters'] ) {
 			/**
 			 * Filters the array of retrieved posts after they've been fetched and
diff --git a/src/wp-includes/comment-template.php b/src/wp-includes/comment-template.php
index bff69f858b..514f65acbf 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/comment-template.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/comment-template.php
@@ -1440,12 +1440,11 @@ function comments_template( $file = '/comments.php', $separate_comments = false
 	$comment_author_url = esc_url( $commenter['comment_author_url'] );
 
 	$comment_args = array(
-		'orderby'                   => 'comment_date_gmt',
-		'order'                     => 'ASC',
-		'status'                    => 'approve',
-		'post_id'                   => $post->ID,
-		'no_found_rows'             => false,
-		'update_comment_meta_cache' => false, // We lazy-load comment meta for performance.
+		'orderby'       => 'comment_date_gmt',
+		'order'         => 'ASC',
+		'status'        => 'approve',
+		'post_id'       => $post->ID,
+		'no_found_rows' => false,
 	);
 
 	if ( get_option( 'thread_comments' ) ) {
@@ -2380,8 +2379,6 @@ function wp_list_comments( $args = array(), $comments = null ) {
 		$parsed_args['reverse_top_level'] = ( 'desc' === get_option( 'comment_order' ) );
 	}
 
-	wp_queue_comments_for_comment_meta_lazyload( $_comments );
-
 	if ( empty( $parsed_args['walker'] ) ) {
 		$walker = new Walker_Comment();
 	} else {
diff --git a/src/wp-includes/comment.php b/src/wp-includes/comment.php
index 45a326ced5..0d400bef4c 100644
--- a/src/wp-includes/comment.php
+++ b/src/wp-includes/comment.php
@@ -484,6 +484,21 @@ function get_comment_meta( $comment_id, $key = '', $single = false ) {
 	return get_metadata( 'comment', $comment_id, $key, $single );
 }
 
+/**
+ * Queue comment meta for lazy-loading.
+ *
+ * @since 6.3.0
+ *
+ * @param array $comment_ids List of comment IDs.
+ */
+function wp_lazyload_comment_meta( array $comment_ids ) {
+	if ( empty( $comment_ids ) ) {
+		return;
+	}
+	$lazyloader = wp_metadata_lazyloader();
+	$lazyloader->queue_objects( 'comment', $comment_ids );
+}
+
 /**
  * Updates comment meta field based on comment ID.
  *
@@ -514,6 +529,9 @@ function update_comment_meta( $comment_id, $meta_key, $meta_value, $prev_value =
  * Queues comments for metadata lazy-loading.
  *
  * @since 4.5.0
+ * @since 6.3.0 Use wp_lazyload_comment_meta() for lazy-loading of comment meta.
+ *
+ * @see wp_lazyload_comment_meta()
  *
  * @param WP_Comment[] $comments Array of comment objects.
  */
@@ -528,10 +546,7 @@ function wp_queue_comments_for_comment_meta_lazyload( $comments ) {
 		}
 	}
 
-	if ( $comment_ids ) {
-		$lazyloader = wp_metadata_lazyloader();
-		$lazyloader->queue_objects( 'comment', $comment_ids );
-	}
+	wp_lazyload_comment_meta( $comment_ids );
 }
 
 /**
@@ -3331,6 +3346,7 @@ function update_comment_cache( $comments, $update_meta_cache = true ) {
  *
  * @since 4.4.0
  * @since 6.1.0 This function is no longer marked as "private".
+ * @since 6.3.0 Use wp_lazyload_comment_meta() for lazy-loading of comment meta.
  *
  * @see update_comment_cache()
  * @global wpdb $wpdb WordPress database abstraction object.
@@ -3345,7 +3361,11 @@ function _prime_comment_caches( $comment_ids, $update_meta_cache = true ) {
 	if ( ! empty( $non_cached_ids ) ) {
 		$fresh_comments = $wpdb->get_results( sprintf( "SELECT $wpdb->comments.* FROM $wpdb->comments WHERE comment_ID IN (%s)", implode( ',', array_map( 'intval', $non_cached_ids ) ) ) );
 
-		update_comment_cache( $fresh_comments, $update_meta_cache );
+		update_comment_cache( $fresh_comments, false );
+	}
+
+	if ( $update_meta_cache ) {
+		wp_lazyload_comment_meta( $comment_ids );
 	}
 }
 
diff --git a/tests/phpunit/tests/comment/metaCache.php b/tests/phpunit/tests/comment/metaCache.php
index 3be8a429d1..5a6d716e91 100644
--- a/tests/phpunit/tests/comment/metaCache.php
+++ b/tests/phpunit/tests/comment/metaCache.php
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ class Tests_Comment_MetaCache extends WP_UnitTestCase {
 	 *
 	 * @covers ::update_comment_meta
 	 */
-	public function test_update_comment_meta_cache_should_default_to_true() {
+	public function test_update_comment_meta_cache_should_default_to_lazy_loading() {
 		$p           = self::factory()->post->create( array( 'post_status' => 'publish' ) );
 		$comment_ids = self::factory()->comment->create_post_comments( $p, 3 );
 
@@ -22,18 +22,55 @@ class Tests_Comment_MetaCache extends WP_UnitTestCase {
 		// Clear comment cache, just in case.
 		clean_comment_cache( $comment_ids );
 
-		$q = new WP_Comment_Query(
+		$num_queries = get_num_queries();
+		$q           = new WP_Comment_Query(
 			array(
 				'post_ID' => $p,
 			)
 		);
 
+		$this->assertSame( 2, get_num_queries() - $num_queries, 'Querying comments is expected to make two queries' );
+
 		$num_queries = get_num_queries();
 		foreach ( $comment_ids as $cid ) {
 			get_comment_meta( $cid, 'foo', 'bar' );
 		}
 
-		$this->assertSame( $num_queries, get_num_queries() );
+		$this->assertSame( 1, get_num_queries() - $num_queries, 'Querying comments is expected to make two queries' );
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @ticket 57801
+	 *
+	 * @covers ::wp_lazyload_comment_meta
+	 */
+	public function test_update_comment_meta_cache_should_default_to_lazy_loading_fields_id() {
+		$p           = self::factory()->post->create( array( 'post_status' => 'publish' ) );
+		$comment_ids = self::factory()->comment->create_post_comments( $p, 3 );
+
+		foreach ( $comment_ids as $cid ) {
+			update_comment_meta( $cid, 'foo', 'bar' );
+		}
+
+		// Clear comment cache, just in case.
+		clean_comment_cache( $comment_ids );
+
+		$num_queries = get_num_queries();
+		$q           = new WP_Comment_Query(
+			array(
+				'post_ID' => $p,
+				'fields'  => 'ids',
+			)
+		);
+
+		$this->assertSame( 1, get_num_queries() - $num_queries, 'Querying comments is expected to make two queries' );
+
+		$num_queries = get_num_queries();
+		foreach ( $comment_ids as $cid ) {
+			get_comment_meta( $cid, 'foo', 'bar' );
+		}
+
+		$this->assertSame( 1, get_num_queries() - $num_queries, 'Comment meta is expected to be lazy loaded' );
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -52,19 +89,59 @@ class Tests_Comment_MetaCache extends WP_UnitTestCase {
 		// Clear comment cache, just in case.
 		clean_comment_cache( $comment_ids );
 
-		$q = new WP_Comment_Query(
+		$num_queries = get_num_queries();
+		$q           = new WP_Comment_Query(
 			array(
 				'post_ID'                   => $p,
 				'update_comment_meta_cache' => true,
 			)
 		);
+		$this->assertSame( 2, get_num_queries() - $num_queries, 'Comments should be queries and primed in two database queries' );
 
 		$num_queries = get_num_queries();
 		foreach ( $comment_ids as $cid ) {
 			get_comment_meta( $cid, 'foo', 'bar' );
 		}
 
-		$this->assertSame( $num_queries, get_num_queries() );
+		$this->assertSame( 1, get_num_queries() - $num_queries, 'Comment meta should be loaded in one database query' );
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * @ticket 57801
+	 *
+	 * @covers ::update_comment_meta
+	 */
+	public function test_update_comment_meta_cache_true_multiple() {
+		$posts           = self::factory()->post->create_many( 3 );
+		$all_comment_ids = array();
+		foreach ( $posts as $p ) {
+			$comment_ids = self::factory()->comment->create_post_comments( $p, 3 );
+
+			foreach ( $comment_ids as $cid ) {
+				update_comment_meta( $cid, 'foo', 'bar' );
+				$all_comment_ids[] = $cid;
+			}
+
+			$num_queries = get_num_queries();
+			$q           = new WP_Comment_Query(
+				array(
+					'post_ID'                   => $p,
+					'update_comment_meta_cache' => true,
+				)
+			);
+			$this->assertSame( 1, get_num_queries() - $num_queries, 'Comment query should only add one query' );
+		}
+
+		$filter = new MockAction();
+		add_filter( 'update_comment_metadata_cache', array( $filter, 'filter' ), 10, 2 );
+		$num_queries = get_num_queries();
+		get_comment_meta( $comment_ids[0], 'foo', 'bar' );
+
+		$this->assertSame( 1, get_num_queries() - $num_queries, 'Comment meta should be loaded in one database query' );
+		$args              = $filter->get_args();
+		$first             = reset( $args );
+		$prime_comment_ids = end( $first );
+		$this->assertSameSets( $prime_comment_ids, $all_comment_ids, 'All comment meta should be loaded all at once' );
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -92,7 +169,7 @@ class Tests_Comment_MetaCache extends WP_UnitTestCase {
 			get_comment_meta( $cid, 'foo', 'bar' );
 		}
 
-		$this->assertSame( $num_queries + 3, get_num_queries() );
+		$this->assertSame( 3, get_num_queries() - $num_queries );
 	}
 
 	/**
@@ -120,12 +197,12 @@ class Tests_Comment_MetaCache extends WP_UnitTestCase {
 				// First request will hit the database.
 				$num_queries = get_num_queries();
 				get_comment_meta( $comment_ids[0], 'sauce' );
-				$this->assertSame( $num_queries + 1, get_num_queries() );
+				$this->assertSame( 1, get_num_queries() - $num_queries );
 
 				// Second and third requests should be in cache.
 				get_comment_meta( $comment_ids[1], 'sauce' );
 				get_comment_meta( $comment_ids[2], 'sauce' );
-				$this->assertSame( $num_queries + 1, get_num_queries() );
+				$this->assertSame( 1, get_num_queries() - $num_queries );
 			}
 		}
 	}
@@ -134,6 +211,7 @@ class Tests_Comment_MetaCache extends WP_UnitTestCase {
 	 * @ticket 34047
 	 *
 	 * @covers ::get_comment_meta
+	 * @covers ::wp_lazyload_comment_meta
 	 */
 	public function test_comment_meta_should_be_lazy_loaded_in_comment_feed_queries() {
 		$posts = self::factory()->post->create_many( 2, array( 'post_status' => 'publish' ) );
@@ -182,6 +260,7 @@ class Tests_Comment_MetaCache extends WP_UnitTestCase {
 	 * @ticket 34047
 	 *
 	 * @covers ::get_comment_meta
+	 * @covers ::wp_lazyload_comment_meta
 	 */
 	public function test_comment_meta_should_be_lazy_loaded_in_single_post_comment_feed_queries() {
 		$posts = self::factory()->post->create_many( 2, array( 'post_status' => 'publish' ) );