diff --git a/apis/v1beta1/opentelemetrycollector_types.go b/apis/v1beta1/opentelemetrycollector_types.go
index 7e14e3167c..8046c743ca 100644
--- a/apis/v1beta1/opentelemetrycollector_types.go
+++ b/apis/v1beta1/opentelemetrycollector_types.go
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ type OpenTelemetryCollectorSpec struct {
 	// +optional
 	// +kubebuilder:default:=3
 	// +kubebuilder:validation:Minimum:=1
-	ConfigVersions *int32 `json:"configVersions,omitempty"`
+	ConfigVersions int `json:"configVersions,omitempty"`
 	// Ingress is used to specify how OpenTelemetry Collector is exposed. This
 	// functionality is only available if one of the valid modes is set.
 	// Valid modes are: deployment, daemonset and statefulset.
diff --git a/apis/v1beta1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go b/apis/v1beta1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
index 0902c1c910..c5e574127c 100644
--- a/apis/v1beta1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
+++ b/apis/v1beta1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
@@ -300,11 +300,6 @@ func (in *OpenTelemetryCollectorSpec) DeepCopyInto(out *OpenTelemetryCollectorSp
 	in.OpenTelemetryCommonFields.DeepCopyInto(&out.OpenTelemetryCommonFields)
 	in.TargetAllocator.DeepCopyInto(&out.TargetAllocator)
 	in.Config.DeepCopyInto(&out.Config)
-	if in.ConfigVersions != nil {
-		in, out := &in.ConfigVersions, &out.ConfigVersions
-		*out = new(int32)
-		**out = **in
-	}
 	in.Ingress.DeepCopyInto(&out.Ingress)
 	if in.LivenessProbe != nil {
 		in, out := &in.LivenessProbe, &out.LivenessProbe
diff --git a/config/crd/bases/opentelemetry.io_opentelemetrycollectors.yaml b/config/crd/bases/opentelemetry.io_opentelemetrycollectors.yaml
index a55210bfd8..ab7f14f557 100644
--- a/config/crd/bases/opentelemetry.io_opentelemetrycollectors.yaml
+++ b/config/crd/bases/opentelemetry.io_opentelemetrycollectors.yaml
@@ -5543,7 +5543,7 @@ spec:
                 x-kubernetes-preserve-unknown-fields: true
               configVersions:
                 default: 3
-                format: int32
+                minimum: 1
                 type: integer
               configmaps:
                 items:
diff --git a/controllers/opentelemetrycollector_controller.go b/controllers/opentelemetrycollector_controller.go
index c9eac8ffba..eaf46f2cf0 100644
--- a/controllers/opentelemetrycollector_controller.go
+++ b/controllers/opentelemetrycollector_controller.go
@@ -134,26 +134,32 @@ func (r *OpenTelemetryCollectorReconciler) findOtelOwnedObjects(ctx context.Cont
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error listing ConfigMaps: %w", err)
 	}
+	ownedConfigMaps := r.getConfigMapsToReconcile(params.OtelCol.Spec.ConfigVersions, configMapList)
+	for i := range ownedConfigMaps {
+		ownedObjects[ownedConfigMaps[i].GetUID()] = &ownedConfigMaps[i]
+	}
+
+	return ownedObjects, nil
+}
 
-	// only return collector ConfigMaps older than spec.ConfigVersions
+// getConfigMapsToReconcile returns a list of ConfigMaps to reconcile based on the number of ConfigMaps to keep.
+// It keeps the newest ConfigMap, the `configVersionsToKeep` next newest ConfigMaps, and returns the remainder.
+func (r *OpenTelemetryCollectorReconciler) getConfigMapsToReconcile(configVersionsToKeep int, configMapList *corev1.ConfigMapList) []corev1.ConfigMap {
+	ownedConfigMaps := []corev1.ConfigMap{}
 	sort.Slice(configMapList.Items, func(i, j int) bool {
 		iTime := configMapList.Items[i].GetCreationTimestamp().Time
 		jTime := configMapList.Items[j].GetCreationTimestamp().Time
 		// sort the ConfigMaps newest to oldest
 		return iTime.After(jTime)
 	})
-	configVersionsToKeep := 3
-	if params.OtelCol.Spec.ConfigVersions != nil {
-		configVersionsToKeep = max(1, int(*params.OtelCol.Spec.ConfigVersions))
-	}
 
 	for i := range configMapList.Items {
 		if i > configVersionsToKeep {
-			ownedObjects[configMapList.Items[i].GetUID()] = &configMapList.Items[i]
+			ownedConfigMaps = append(ownedConfigMaps, configMapList.Items[i])
 		}
 	}
 
-	return ownedObjects, nil
+	return ownedConfigMaps
 }
 
 func (r *OpenTelemetryCollectorReconciler) getParams(instance v1beta1.OpenTelemetryCollector) (manifests.Params, error) {