Unable to use email linked to deleted Apple Account

I’ve been trying to add my new email address to my Apple Account and set it as my main primary email. However, each time I go through the process I receive a verification code, enter it, and then get an error saying the request "could not be processed."

After contacting Apple Support, I was told that this email address is still “linked” to an Apple Account that was previously deleted. Because of that, I’m not allowed to reuse it on my current account.

To me, this seems quite unreasonable. If the old account was deleted, shouldn’t that release the associated email address for reuse? It feels unfair to permanently restrict an active email just because it was once tied to an account that no longer exists. I rely on this email as my main inbox and would prefer not to keep using an outdated one just because of this technicality.

Has anyone else ever encountered this issue or perhaps found a workaround? Any insight or help would be much appreciated.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Email Linked to Deleted Apple Account