Tragedy Strikes Tyrese Haliburton’s Fiancée Jada Jones as Bachelorette Party Getaway Ends With Heartbreaking Loss

What was meant to be a happy, once-in-a-lifetime tropical getaway ahead of wedding bells has instead ended in unspeakable heartbreak for Jade Jones, the fiancée of Tyrese Haliburton. A bachelorette party to celebrate Jones with her friends at St. Barts was abruptly shattered when one of her closest lifelong friends, 26-year-old Makenzi Kern, passed away unexpectedly. The group of tight-knit friends had traveled to the Caribbean island earlier this month to celebrate Jones’ upcoming nuptials to the Indiana Pacers All-Star guard. What started her documenting the early days of the trip with the usual bachelorette fun on Instagram turned into unexpected tragedy.

According to her obituary, Kern passed away on June 8, 2026, from health complications, just two days after celebrating her 26th birthday on June 6. The family and law enforcement do not suspect drugs, alcohol or foul play in her death.

Kern, Jones, and the rest of their party was expected to travel back to the US around the time of her unexpected passing. “She was surrounded by her closest friends on a once in a lifetime trip to St. Barthelemy Island,” the obituary read.

EXCLUSIVE: Tyrese Haliburton’s fiancée Jade Jones’ friend dies during her Bachelorette party.

What we know: https://t.co/naRCflXSeY pic.twitter.com/2nHY4xjYcZ

— TMZ (@TMZ) June 15, 2026

The sudden death has left the family completely distraught and struggling to process the loss of a dear friend is likely going to weigh on Haliburton and Jones’ wedding.

Tyrese Haliburton and Jade Jones shared a history with late friend

Tyrese Haliburton and Jade Jones are college sweethearts who also had a friend with Mackenzie Kern, or Kenz as her loved ones called her. Long before Jones became known as an NBA WAG, she and Kern were teammates on the official Iowa State University cheerleading squad while Haliburton was the standout athlete for the Cyclones basketball team till he entered the NBA in 2020.

It was during their shared time cheering for the Cyclones that their close friendship blossomed. As Kenz’s family said, “she deepened her friendships there that she maintained way beyond her days at ISU.”

Jones had been posting about the trip the entire time on Instagram and they heavily featured Kern all smiles and happy. One post was a heartfelt message celebrating Jones’ birthday during the trip. Prior to the unimaginable tragedy, Jones had shared a series of celebratory group shots on her personal feeds, captioning a collection of smiling photos with the phrase, “hopped on a flight to cloud 9.”

Kern was prominently featured in several of those joyous frames, smiling alongside her fellow bridesmaids in final memories that have now taken on a deeply somber meaning.

Haliburton, now a two-time NBA All-Star, officially proposed to Jones a  a year ago after the 2025 NBA Finals when he suffered the Achilles rupture during Game 7. Her void will probably felt within their wedding party.

Since the tragedy occurred, Jones has completely vanished from social media, and neither Haliburton nor any representatives for the bridal party have issued a formal public comment.

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