Tragedy Strikes Bachelorette Party for Tyrese Haliburton's Fiancee

The bachelorette party of Indiana Pacers superstar guard Tyrese Haliburton's fiancée, Jade Jones, turned into a tragedy when her 26-year-old friend, Makenzi Kern, passed away earlier this month during the trip to the island of St. Barts.

No details are available about how Kern died, but sources close to the situation told TMZ Sports that health complications were the cause of her death, and neither foul play, drugs, nor alcohol were suspected.

Jones, Haliburton, and the rest of the bridal party have yet to comment on the loss.

Tyrese Haliburton and Jade 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 former cheerleaders for the Cyclones.

Kern died on June 8, just two days after her 26th birthday. According to her obituary, she 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.

"To know Makenzi was to love her,&#x; the obituary read. "She lived life to the fullest; she was silly, goofy, and could brighten everyone's spirits when she was around… During her time at ISU, she deepened her friendships there that she maintained way beyond her days at ISU."

The engagement of Haliburton and Jones received significant attention last summer, mostly due to the dramatic run of the Pacers to the NBA Finals, where they lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

In Game 7, Haliburton suffered a torn right Achilles tendon, causing him to miss the entire 2025-26 season. One month later, he proposed to Jones and saved his best piece of jewelry for July.

Even after sitting out the entire season and suffering a devastating injury, Haliburton is widely regarded as one of the NBA's brightest young stars.

Drafted in the 1st round (No. 12 overall) by the Sacramento Kings in the 2020 NBA draft, Haliburton was traded to the Pacers a year later and signed a 5-year, $244.62 million contract extension in July 2023.

Haliburton 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 the first 5 seasons of his career, Haliburton has averaged 17.5 points, 8.8 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.5 steals.