Astronomer CEO Andy Byron found himself at the center of a viral scandal after being caught in an intimate embrace with his company's Chief People Officer, Kristin Cabot, during a Coldplay concert at Boston's Gillette Stadium on Wednesday night.
The awkward moment was captured on the venue's "kiss cam" and broadcast to 60,000 concertgoers before quickly spreading across social media platforms.
The incident occurred when Coldplay frontman Chris Martin was interacting with the crowd during the band's traditional kiss cam segment. When the camera panned to Byron and Cabot, who were wrapped in each other's arms, both immediately panicked upon realizing they were being broadcast on the massive Jumbotron. Byron, who was embracing Cabot from behind, quickly let go and ducked behind a barrier, while Cabot covered her face with her hands.
Martin, unaware of the controversy he was about to ignite, commented from the stage: "Oh, look at these two... either they're having an affair or they're just very shy." The comment, combined with the pair's embarrassed reactions, immediately sparked speculation about their relationship status among the stadium crowd and later millions of social media users.
The viral TikTok video, originally posted by user @instaagrace, has since garnered over 3 million likes and has been viewed tens of millions of times across various platforms. Internet sleuths quickly identified the two individuals as Byron and Cabot, both senior executives at the New York-based data orchestration company Astronomer.
@extra_tv Kiss cam scandal?! 😳 Coldplay accidentally exposes Andy Byron, the married CEO of software development firm Astronomer, looking cozy with his Chief People Officer, Kristin Cabot. Neither Byron nor Cabot have publicly responded to the gone-viral moment. (🎥: calebu2/TMX) #coldplay #chrismartin ♬ original sound - ExtraTV
The scandal has particularly intensified speculation because both executives are reportedly married to other people. Byron is married to Megan Kerrigan Byron, an educator who serves as Associate Director of Lower School at Bancroft School, and the couple has two children together. Cabot was previously married to Kenneth Thornby, though they separated in 2018 and finalized their divorce in 2022.
Following the viral incident, both Byron and Cabot's social media presence has been dramatically affected. Byron has disabled comments on his LinkedIn profile and reportedly deleted posts where he had previously praised Cabot's hiring. His wife, Megan, has removed his last name from her Facebook profile and subsequently deleted both her Facebook and Instagram accounts entirely.
The incident has generated significant public reaction, with social media users expressing both sympathy for Byron's wife and criticism of the executives' apparent workplace conduct. Former Astronomer employees have also weighed in, with one source telling the New York Post that text chains among ex-employees were "full of laughter and enjoyment over what transpired and his exposure."
Astronomer has not issued any official statement regarding the incident. The company has disabled comments on its LinkedIn and X posts after they were flooded with commentary about the viral moment. Neither Byron nor Cabot has publicly addressed the speculation surrounding their relationship.
Originally published on Enstarz
