The tropical bachelorette party of Indiana Pacers superstar guard Tyrese Haliburton’s fiancée, Jade Jones, ended in tragedy when her 26-year-old friend, Makenzi Kern, died earlier this month during a trip to the island of St. Barts.
TMZ Sports was the 1st to report the tragic story.
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.”
“To know Makenzi was to love her,” 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.”
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.
“Tyrese Haliburton missed out on his first NBA championship ring in June, but he saved his best piece of jewelry for July,” ESPN’s Anthony Gharib wrote in July 2025. “The Indiana Pacers star proposed to longtime girlfriend Jade Jones, the couple announced in a joint Instagram post Monday. Haliburton staged the proposal inside Hilton Coliseum, the home of Iowa State Cyclones basketball, gymnastics, volleyball and wrestling.”
After breaking the initial story, TMZ followed up with a report that while the bachelorette party began on June 2, according to social media posts, none of the attendees appeared to post on social media following June 6 — Kern’s birthday, and just 2 days before her death.
Tyrese Haliburton 1 of NBA’s Brightest Young Stars
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.
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 the 1st 5 seasons of his career, Haliburton has averaged 17.5 points, 8.8 assists, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.5 steals.
Bachelorette Party Ends in Tragedy for Pacers Star Tyrese Haliburton’s Fiancee