diff --git a/helm-charts/secrets-operator/templates/infisicalsecret-crd.yaml b/helm-charts/secrets-operator/templates/infisicalsecret-crd.yaml
index 18198d365..e024758ee 100644
--- a/helm-charts/secrets-operator/templates/infisicalsecret-crd.yaml
+++ b/helm-charts/secrets-operator/templates/infisicalsecret-crd.yaml
@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-{{- if .Values.installCRDs }}
 apiVersion: apiextensions.k8s.io/v1
 kind: CustomResourceDefinition
 metadata:
@@ -301,6 +300,48 @@ spec:
                 - secretName
                 - secretNamespace
                 type: object
+              managedSecretReferences:
+                items:
+                  properties:
+                    creationPolicy:
+                      default: Orphan
+                      description: 'The Kubernetes Secret creation policy. Enum with
+                        values: ''Owner'', ''Orphan''. Owner creates the secret and
+                        sets .metadata.ownerReferences of the InfisicalSecret CRD that
+                        created it. Orphan will not set the secret owner. This will
+                        result in the secret being orphaned and not deleted when the
+                        resource is deleted.'
+                      type: string
+                    secretName:
+                      description: The name of the Kubernetes Secret
+                      type: string
+                    secretNamespace:
+                      description: The name space where the Kubernetes Secret is located
+                      type: string
+                    secretType:
+                      default: Opaque
+                      description: 'The Kubernetes Secret type (experimental feature).
+                        More info: https://kubernetes.io/docs/concepts/configuration/secret/#secret-types'
+                      type: string
+                    template:
+                      description: The template to transform the secret data
+                      properties:
+                        data:
+                          additionalProperties:
+                            type: string
+                          description: The template key values
+                          type: object
+                        includeAllSecrets:
+                          description: This injects all retrieved secrets into the top
+                            level of your template. Secrets defined in the template
+                            will take precedence over the injected ones.
+                          type: boolean
+                      type: object
+                  required:
+                  - secretName
+                  - secretNamespace
+                  type: object
+                type: array
               resyncInterval:
                 default: 60
                 type: integer
@@ -338,7 +379,6 @@ spec:
                 - secretNamespace
                 type: object
             required:
-            - managedSecretReference
             - resyncInterval
             type: object
           status:
@@ -425,5 +465,4 @@ status:
     kind: ""
     plural: ""
   conditions: []
-  storedVersions: []
-{{- end }}
\ No newline at end of file
+  storedVersions: []
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/k8-operator/controllers/infisicalsecret/infisicalsecret_controller.go b/k8-operator/controllers/infisicalsecret/infisicalsecret_controller.go
index 7df44c8d2..5c0b14600 100644
--- a/k8-operator/controllers/infisicalsecret/infisicalsecret_controller.go
+++ b/k8-operator/controllers/infisicalsecret/infisicalsecret_controller.go
@@ -89,6 +89,12 @@ func (r *InfisicalSecretReconciler) Reconcile(ctx context.Context, req ctrl.Requ
 		managedSecretReferences = append(managedSecretReferences, infisicalSecretCRD.Spec.ManagedSecretReference)
 	}
 
+	if len(managedSecretReferences) == 0 {
+		errMessage := "InfisicalSecret CRD must have at least one managed secret reference set in the `managedSecretReferences` field"
+		logger.Error(defaultErrors.New(errMessage), errMessage)
+		return ctrl.Result{}, defaultErrors.New(errMessage)
+	}
+
 	// Remove finalizers if they exist. This is to support previous InfisicalSecret CRD's that have finalizers on them.
 	// In order to delete secrets with finalizers, we first remove the finalizers so we can use the simplified and improved deletion process
 	if !infisicalSecretCRD.ObjectMeta.DeletionTimestamp.IsZero() && len(infisicalSecretCRD.ObjectMeta.Finalizers) > 0 {