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Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton and his fiancee, Jade Jones.

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 at Iowa State.

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.”