The fiancée of Indiana Pacers superstar guard Tyrese Halliburton is addressing the tragic death of her friend at her bachelorette party in St. Barts earlier this month.
Haliburton’s wife-to-be, Jade Jones, took to her official Instagram account to express her love for her friend, Makenzi Kern, 26, who died while with Jones to celebrate her upcoming wedding.
“Kenzi was the funniest, goofiest person I’ve ever met. She was always making me belly laugh,” Jones wrote on Wednesday. “She had such a gift of bringing happiness to every room she was in … she loved and supported Tyrese and me through every chapter. She was our biggest cheerleader and showed up for me in every big moment in my life. I can’t even imagine our wedding day without her there, celebrating with us. The day will not be the same without her, but I know she will show us she is there somehow. She has been there for all of our moments since the day I met Tyrese. But Kenz will forever live on in my memories, my laughter, my stories, and in the person I am because of her. I will never stop laughing about all our memories together.”
“I love you,” Haliburton replied to the post.
No Cause of Death Revealed for Makenzi Kern
TMZ Sports was the 1st to report the tragic story on Monday.
From TMZ: “Tragedy struck a bachelorette party hosted by Tyrese Haliburton’s fiancée, Jade Jones, in St. Barts earlier this month when one of her friends died … sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ Sports … 26-year-old Makenzi Kern passed away unexpectedly from health complications … and the family does not suspect that foul play, drugs, or alcohol contributed to her death … Jones, Haliburton, and the rest of the bridal party have yet to comment on the loss.”
Haliburton and Jones got engaged in July 2025 at Iowa State’s Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa, where Haliburton played college basketball, and Kern and Jones were both cheerleaders for the Cyclones.
According to her obituary, Kern died on June 8, just 2 days after her 26th birthday, worked for the Greater YMCA of Omaha, and “was surrounded by her closest friends on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to St. Barthelemy Island” at the time of her death.
Haliburton-Jones Love Story Well-Documented
The engagement of Haliburton and Jones made big news last summer because it came after the Pacers made a dramatic run to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In Game 7, Haliburton suffered a torn right Achilles tendon that sidelined him for the entire 2025-26 season — 1 month later, he and Jones were engaged.
Even after sitting out the entire season and suffering a devastating injury, Haliburtion is universally regarded as 1 of the NBA’s brightest young stars and is also 1 of the league’s highest-paid players.
Drafted in the 1st round (No. 12 overall) by the Sacramento Kings in the 2020 NBA draft, Haliburton was traded to the Pacers 1 year later and signed a 5-year, $244.62 million contract extension in July 2023.
Haliburton, who won a gold medal as part of Team USA in 2024, is a 2-time NBA All-Star and 2-time All-NBA Team selection, including consecutive seasons in 2024, when he led the NBA in assists, and again in 2025.
Over his 1st 5 seasons, Haliburton has averaged 17.5 points, 8.8 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.5 steals.
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