diff --git a/ios/RCTVideo.m b/ios/RCTVideo.m
index 4a6177c4..f261b938 100644
--- a/ios/RCTVideo.m
+++ b/ios/RCTVideo.m
@@ -532,9 +532,12 @@ static NSString *const timedMetadata = @"timedMetadata";
     CMTime current = item.currentTime;
     // TODO figure out a good tolerance level
     CMTime tolerance = CMTimeMake(1000, timeScale);
+    BOOL wasPaused = _paused;
 
     if (CMTimeCompare(current, cmSeekTime) != 0) {
+      if (!wasPaused) [_player pause];
       [_player seekToTime:cmSeekTime toleranceBefore:tolerance toleranceAfter:tolerance completionHandler:^(BOOL finished) {
+        if (!wasPaused) [_player play];
         if(self.onVideoSeek) {
             self.onVideoSeek(@{@"currentTime": [NSNumber numberWithFloat:CMTimeGetSeconds(item.currentTime)],
                                @"seekTime": [NSNumber numberWithFloat:seekTime],