On July 16, 2025, the lives of Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and Chief People Officer (CPO) Kristin Cabot changed forever.
While the pair bopped along at Coldplay's Boston concert, they were unaware that they were about to be blasted to the world on kiss cam. The problem is, both were reportedly married to other people.
In a clip that soon went viral on TikTok, one woman snapped the seemingly happy couple and caught the moment that Coldplay's Chris Martin inadvertently outed them to the world.
The band's frontman said, "Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy," not knowing how close to the truth he really was.
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A quick hunt tracked down Byron, and after faked apologies from the shamed CEO and neighbors apparently branding him disgusting, he quickly stepped down. Things seemed to go cold here, but rounding off a dramatic year, Cabot has finally broken her silence.
Cabot was briefly spotted without her wedding ring back in July, but speaking to The New York Times, she's ready to share her side of the story. Having hired a communications consultant before going on the media circuit, Cabot explained how her kiss with Byron was an alcohol-fuelled mistake: “I made a bad decision and had a couple of High Noons and danced and acted inappropriately with my boss. And it’s not nothing. And I took accountability and I gave up my career for that. That’s the price I chose to pay."
She was married but supposedly separated from her second husband at the time, and referring to her family, Cabot added: "I want my kids to know that you can make mistakes, and you can really screw up. But you don’t have to be threatened to be killed for them.”
As well as being doxxed and getting up to 600 calls a day, paparazzi camped across the street from Cabot’s house, and she received between 50 and 60 death threats. Things might've died down now, but with Cabot opening up to the world, things could soon kick up again.
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She went on to say she and Byron 'clicked, stylistically' when she interviewed for Astronomer in the summer of 2024, while the two reportedly grew close over troubles in their respective marriages.
The outlet noted that she makes a point of reiterating the Coldplay incident was the first and last time she ever kissed Byron.
In the immediate aftermath, Cabot thought: "I was so embarrassed and so horrified. I’m the head of H.R., and he’s the C.E.O. It’s, like, so cliché and so bad.
"We both just sat there with our heads in our hands, like, ‘What just happened?’ And the initial conversation was, ‘We have to tell the board.’"
With the viral moment already blowing up on TikTok, they pressed send on the fateful email at 6 a.m on a. Thursday morning.
Although Cabot claims she was asked to return after Astronomer had concluded its investigation, she maintains she didn't want to be a 'laughingstock', so instead, negotiated her resignation.
In terms of what happened to her and Byron, Cabot says they spoke sporadically over the summer but decided it was best for both of them to keep contact to a minimum.
Byron has maintained his silence and reportedly didn't respond to the outlet's request for comment.