{"id":710625,"date":"2026-06-18T02:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T02:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/710625\/"},"modified":"2026-06-18T02:42:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T02:42:09","slug":"tyrese-haliburtons-bride-to-be-shares-heartbreaking-tribute-after-friend-dies-on-bachelorette-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/710625\/","title":{"rendered":"Tyrese Haliburton\u2019s bride-to-be shares heartbreaking tribute after friend dies on bachelorette trip"},"content":{"rendered":"

Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton\u2019s fiancee shared a touching tribute on Wednesday honoring her best friend who unexpectedly died<\/a> during her lavish St. Barts bachelorette trip.<\/p>\n

Makenzi Kern<\/a> died of undisclosed health complications on June 8 \u2013 just two days after celebrating her 26th birthday during the Caribbean trip with Haliburton\u2019s bride-to-be, Jade Jones.<\/p>\n

Jones posted a lengthy tribute on Instagram recounting some of her favorite moments with Kern over the years \u2013 ranging from \u201cHannah Montana\u201d dance sessions to countless summers boating.<\/p>\n

\"JadeMakenzi Kern (left) died during a bachelorette party in St. Barts. Instagram\/jadeeejones<\/p>\n

\u201cI am forever grateful that I got to love someone as truly special as Kenzi, and to have been loved back by her. Kenz was truly a light in this world, and that light will continue to shine in everyone who was lucky enough to know her. I love you forever until the end of time Kenzi,\u201d Jones wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are truly so beautiful inside and out & a once-in-a-lifetime kind of friend. Thank you for always showing up for me, for making me laugh until I cry, and for being such an unforgettable part of my life. I\u2019ll always miss you but I know you\u2019ll be with me, wherever I go. \u2018See ya\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pictures included in the post stretched back to their college days. Jones celebrated Kern as her \u201cbiggest cheerleader,\u201d both in life and her relationship with Haliburton.<\/p>\n

\"JadeKern was close friends with Jade Jones (left), fianc\u00e9e to Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton (right). Getty Images for REFORM Alliance<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t 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,\u201d Jones added.<\/p>\n

Jones and Haliburton have been together for more than seven years. They are set to tie the knot on Aug. 1.<\/p>\n

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Kern and Jones became fast friends during their time on the Iowa State cheerleading squad. They first crossed paths with Haliburton while he was a guard for the Cyclones.<\/p>\n

Kern appeared carefree in photos taken by friends<\/a> during the first leg of the bash.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her devastated family said she died while \u201csurrounded by her closest friends on a once in a lifetime trip to St. Barthelemy Island,\u201d according to an online obituary<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kern\u2019s family does not believe foul play, drugs or alcohol contributed to her untimely death. The exact cause is still unclear.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton\u2019s fiancee shared a touching tribute on Wednesday honoring her best friend who unexpectedly…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":710626,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[306456,23662,26522,88,3441,13014,355,99,20629,194],"class_list":["post-710625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-bachelorette-parties","tag-caribbean","tag-deaths","tag-entertainment","tag-indiana-pacers","tag-iowa","tag-nba","tag-sports","tag-tyrese-haliburton","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/710625","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=710625"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/710625\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/710626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=710625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=710625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=710625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}