Friend of Tyrese Haliburton’s Fiancee Remembered as ‘One of a Kind’ After Death on Bachelorette Trip

Makenzi Kern, who died suddenly on a recent bachelorette trip for the fiancée of NBA star Tyrese Haliburton, was remembered by one of her best friends in an emotional social media post. 

“I can confidently say that every single time we were together, we were laughing,” Kinsey Scheffler shared via Instagram on Sunday, June 21. “The kind of laughing that made our stomachs hurt, the kind that annoyed everyone around us, and I wouldn’t change a second of it. I wish we could laugh together one more time.”

Kern died due to unexpected “health complications” on June 8 while in St. Barts to celebrate the upcoming nuptials of her friend, Jade Jones. She was 26. No cause of death has been released.

The Kern family does not expect foul play, drugs or alcohol played a role in her death, according to TMZ.

“I wish we had a lifetime longer to take crazy road trips, celebrate birthdays, make more memories, and keep creating the kind of moments that turned into some of my favorite memories that I will talk about forever,” Scheffler wrote. “Everyone who knew Kenz knows she was truly one of a kind. She was a friend to everyone, the person you could always count on, and someone we should all strive to be more like. She was kind, selfless, and somehow always the mediator between countless shay and abbie fights that we wanted no part of. That’s just who she was, she showed up for everyone.”

She continued, “I am so grateful for every memory, every laugh, and every moment I got to spend as your friend. Thank you for taking me in, loving me so well, and being one of the best friends I could have ever asked for. I love you so much, Kenzi girl. In this lifetime and the next. Every memory with you is something I’ll cherish forever.”

Jones, 28, who is set to wed the Indiana Pacers star, 26, on August 1, previously broke her silence about her friend’s death. 

“Kenzi was the funniest, goofiest person I’ve ever met,” she wrote via Instagram on June 17. “She was always making me belly laugh. She had such a gift of bringing happiness to every room she was in. Some of my favorite memories with Kenzi are the simple ones — spending a summer living in her city, leaving our mark on the capital district, running around our cars at stop lights, cheering on the bandshell together, obsessing over The Office, dancing on countertops to Hannah Montana, and watching her light up anytime she got to be on a boat.”

“I love you forever until the end of time Kenzi,” she continued. “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.”