On July 16, Chris Martin led crowds at Gillette Stadium, Massachusetts, through all of Coldplay’s greatest hits, before turning the camera onto the audience. It’s a frequent segment throughout Coldplay gigs, a sort of roving “kiss cam” designed to spotlight particularly enthusiastic — or romantic — members of the crowd.
The kiss cam landed on two individuals in a tender embrace, a man holding a woman around the waist. The man immediately ducked for cover, while the woman covered her face and turned her back on the camera. “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” Martin joked.
The video went viral. Within 24 hours, the collective hive mind of the internet had identified both parties: Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot.
@instaagraace trouble in paradise?? 👀 #coldplay #boston #coldplayconcert #kisscam #fyp
♬ original sound - grace
They were easy to identify because Andy Byron is somewhat of a public figure. He is the married CEO of Astronomer, a billion-dollar tech company and certified “unicorn” that specialises in analytics, AI and software. He is also a father of two.
Cabot, though less of a public figure, was also easy to identify. Why? Because she’s Astronomer’s Chief People Officer. Which is, in layman's terms, essentially the head of HR.
After the incident went viral, Astronomer appeared to take down their online announcement of Cabot’s hiring back in November 2024, just nine months ago.
The announcement included a glowing endorsement of Cabot from Byron. “Kristin’s exceptional leadership and deep expertise in talent management, employee engagement, and scaling people strategies will be critical as we continue our rapid trajectory,” Byron wrote in the since-deleted hiring announcement post. “She is a proven leader at multiple growth-stage companies and her passion for fostering diverse, collaborative workplaces makes her a perfect fit for Astronomer.”
Collaborative workspaces inside and outside of work, it seems!
Picture of the Astronomer CEO & the Head of HR at the weekly staff meeting. pic.twitter.com/W59xCTCcQs
— ScottW (@jswtreeman) July 17, 2025
Neither Byron, Cabot, nor Astronomer have publicly addressed the scandal. But it’s taken on a life of its own.
Quickly, netizens were able to identify Byron’s wife. The comments on her Facebook profile were bombarded with people informing her of the incident and calling for her to leave her husband.
Some even commented with screenshots from the video, while others questioned whether this was actually helpful. “Is this necessary?” a Facebook commenter replied to the screenshot. “She should know,” the original poster responded.
After her Facebook profile was discovered, Byron’s wife dropped her husband’s last name from her online profiles before deleting her Facebook profile entirely. Before it’s deletion, Byron’s wife’s Facebook profile showed many pictures of her with her young children.
CEO of astronomer in his meetings today pic.twitter.com/1Oox6QIpmp
— kyle (@knicks_tape99) July 17, 2025
Cabot is also a mother. This was confirmed by the New York Post, which discovered her divorce from ex-husband Kenneth Thornby in 2022 by obtaining Massachusetts court records.
“It’s unclear if she has since remarried, but the former couple has at least one child, as Thornby was made to pay child support,” reported the Post.
But it’s not just netizens who are invested in the story. According to a former Astronomer employee who spoke to the New York Post, “The text groups and chains of former employees are like…everybody’s laughing their a** off and enjoying the h*** out of what happened and him getting exposed.”
There are also less legitimate sides to the story, such as a fake statement from Byron that has started circulating. The fake statement says: “I want to acknowledge the moment that's been circulating online, and the disappointment it's caused.
“What was supposed to be a night of music and joy turned into a deeply personal mistake play-out on a very public stage. I want to sincerely apologise to my wife, my family, and my team at Astronomer.
“You deserve better from me as a partner, as a father, and as a leader.
“This is not who I want to be or how I want to represent the company I helped build. I'm taking time to reflect, take accountability, and figure out the next steps, personally and professionally. I ask for privacy as I navigate that process."
The fake statement then takes aim at Coldplay: “I also want to express how troubling it is that what should have been a private moment became public without my consent. I respect artists and entertainers, but I hope we can all think more deeply about the impact of turning someone else's life into a spectacle.”
Astronomer confirmed its illegitimacy to TMZ, saying it was “not a real statement.”
