Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton shared a touching tribute to his fiancée’s close friend who died unexpectedly during his bride-to-be’s lavish bachelorette getaway in St. Bart’s.
The two-time NBA All-Star shared a sweet snap of Makenzi Kern and his future wife, Jade Jones, hugging on his Instagram stories.
“Will always love and miss you Kenz,” he wrote Wednesday, adding, “Forever thankful for you,” with a red heart emoji.
Kern, an Iowa native, died suddenly of undisclosed health complications during the Caribbean getaway on June 8, just two days after her 26th birthday.
Jones also posted a lengthy tribute on Instagram recounting some of her favorite moments with Kern over the years — ranging from “Hannah Montana” dance sessions to countless summers boating.
“I 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,” Jones wrote.
“You 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’ll always miss you but I know you’ll be with me, wherever I go. ‘See ya’.”
A series of pictures included in the post stretched back to their college days. Jones celebrated Kern as her “biggest cheerleader,” both in life and in her relationship with Haliburton.
“I can’t 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,” Jones added.
Jones and Haliburton have been together for more than seven years and are set to tie the knot on Aug. 1.
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.
Her devastated family said she died while “surrounded by her closest friends on a once in a lifetime trip to St. Barthelemy Island,” according to an online obituary.
Kern appeared happy and carefree in photos taken by friends during the first leg of the ill-fated bachelorette bash.
Her loved ones don’t believe foul play, drugs or alcohol contributed to her untimely death, though the exact cause is still unclear.
The circumstances surrounding her death remain unclear.

Jamie Lynn Spears’ daughter Maddie had her last rites read after her near-fatal ATV accident in February 2017.
The “Sweet Magnolias” star, 35, told People on Wednesday that the then-8-year-old, who was in a coma, “physically sit[ting] up in all her restraints and tubes” when the priest arrived at her hospital room.
“I [was] screaming for the doctors, like ‘Come in here now!’” the actress recalled. “Even the priest was like, ‘I’ve never seen anything like what’s happening.’”
Spears continued, “I knew she was in there and felt all of us praying. We were given a miracle, and I don’t take it for granted.”
The “Zoey 101” alum shared more details with the outlet of her eldest child surviving “against all odds.”
She remembered witnessing the ATV Polaris accident, which took place at her husband Jamie Watson’s Louisiana home.
“We were watching her, and we still don’t quite know if she was dodging a dog or what it was,” the former Nickelodeon star said. “She went in the water and me, my father-in-law and my husband ran as fast as we could to go jump in to get her out, but she was stuck.”
Maddie being pulled out of the water by emergency responders minutes later was “really not a sight anybody wants to see,” Spears told the outlet.
“At that point, she was not breathing. We thought that she had passed,” the “Special Forces” alum explained, noting that paramedics ultimately “got a pulse.”
During the little one’s two-day coma, Spears decided to have another baby since Maddie had been “begging for a sibling.”
Sure enough, Maddie asked about expanding the family when she woke up from her coma.
Spears and Watson, 54, conceived daughter Ivey, now 8, a few months later, and the infant arrived in April 2018.
“We always say [Maddie] went up to heaven to go pick out her little sister,” Spears said. “Ivey’s like, ‘So you did all of that to find me?’”
Looking back on the freak accident, Maddie said, “Seeing everybody rally around me, it made me realize how blessed I am. It really made me so grateful for every day.”

Former child actor Daveigh Chase, best known for her roles in “Lilo & Stitch” and “The Ring,” has died.
She was 35.
Chase died Tuesday in a Los Angeles hospital, her father, John Schwallier, confirmed. Schwallier said in a text message to NBC News that his daughter died of complications of bacterial meningitis and a blood infection. He added that she was suffering from severe malnutrition.
She was homeless and living in Los Angeles near the hospital where she died, the Los Angeles General Medical Center, according to her father.
Chase starred in Disney’s hit movie “Lilo & Stitch” in 2002 as the voice of the film’s lead character, Lilo.
The film follows Lilo, a young Hawaiian girl who adopts what she thinks is a dog but is actually a genetically engineered alien named Stitch.
She also starred in the television series adaptation of the film, “Lilo & Stitch: The Series” from 2003 to 2006.
Also in 2002, Chase starred in the hit horror film “The Ring,” playing the terrifying child ghost Samara, who would haunt viewers of a cursed VHS tape.
The next year, Chase won the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for her work in the role.
She also starred in “The Ring Two” in 2005, reprising her role.
The New York Times reported that Chase was living with her boyfriend before her death, but her father was unclear what the extent of his daughter’s relationship was with the man.
“I don’t know how much of a boyfriend he was to her,” he said in a text message. “I seen a video of her in September. I don’t know why he wasn’t getting her medical help then.”
John Ryan Jr., who managed Chase for 15 years, said she was one of his “best friends for almost 20 years,” and that she was “the easiest celebrity” he ever worked with.

“Elf” star Faizon Love claimed he was unable to pay the child support he owed ahead of his Tuesday arrest.
The actor insisted in court documents earlier this year that he could not come up with the $250,000 he allegedly owes a woman named Tiffany Lee, according to TMZ.
The 58-year-old claimed he had not earned a single cent in the last 12 months — and that his highest gross income over the last five years was $13,000.
Additionally, Love defended skipping out on an April hearing in the child support case.
He claimed to have been suffering from a medical emergency at the time, per the outlet.
The “Couples Retreat” star, who was ordered at the time to turn himself in for 90 days behind bars, was arrested Tuesday night in Florida’s Hillsborough County.
He was charged with two counts of contempt of court, according to records viewed by The Post.
Love, who lives in Glendale, California, is being held without bond at Orient Road Jail in Tampa.
In his mug shot, he stared stone-faced at the camera in an orange jumpsuit.
Love’s lawyer did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
Tuesday’s detainment is not Love’s first run-in with the law.
Most recently, he was accused of felony assault in February 2025 after a hotel clerk claimed he slammed a credit card machine into her head and broke her glasses.
The alleged attack took place in August 2024.
In July 2025, a judge found sufficient evidence to proceed with the case and scheduled a criminal trial.
Love was also fined $500 and sentenced to a 180-day suspended jail sentence over a 2017 assault at the John Glenn Columbus International Airport in Ohio.
The comedian pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor after he was caught on camera assaulting a valet.

Jelly Roll was missing on stage at Post Malone’s concert days before his divorce news broke.
A week before it was revealed the “Save Me” singer, 41, filed for divorce from Bunnie Xo, he shared a health update to TikTok. He revealed that he paid a visit to the hospital after battling a sinus infection.
“So, I went to the hospital last night in Charlotte, North Carolina,” Jelly Roll shared. “Shout out to that whole hospital. They literally got me on my feet for the show.”
The singer, whose real name is Jason DeFord, was put on “a bunch of steroids” due to his symptoms.
This was the first time he was absent on stage since joining Post Malone on his Big A– Stadium Tour.
Jelly Roll said the singer checked in on him after learning he wasn’t feeling well.
“The next night, he sends me a big flower bouquet,” he said, displaying an attached note that read, “Get well soon, Mofo! Love Ya.”
Jelly Roll then mirrored the appreciation, telling his followers, “I love you Post, when I say on stage every night that Post Malone is the nicest human in the world. I’m not making that up. [He’s] the most normal dude in the world. Like I love you, Post.”
His admiration for his fellow musician came in the midst of his divorce to Bunnie Xo.
After ten years of marriage, the “Save Me” singer, 41, filed for divorce from the Dumb Blonde podcast host, 46, in Williamson County, Tennessee on May 18. Within the court records, the two split due to irreconcilable differences.
This marks the second time the pair have split during their courtship.
Two years into their marriage, the couple had briefly broken up after Bunnie had learned Jelly Roll engaged in a 10-month affair.
After taking some time apart, the couple sought professional help and partook in therapy together. Despite describing it as “the best decision I ever made” on The Kelly Clarkson Show, Bunnie made it clear the singer was only getting a second chance.
“Will he get a third? Absolutely the f— not,” she concluded.
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