Finally speaking.
Undoubtedly, one of the most viral internet moments of 2025 was when the (now former) Astronomer CEO, Andy Byron, was allegedly caught cheating on his wife with the organization’s human resources chief, Kristin Cabot, in the now mega-viral jumbotron video.
If that’s not the textbook definition of being caught red-handed, I don’t know what is.
Just in case you haven’t seen the actual footage (do you live under a rock?), the viral clip from last week shows the jumbotron camera operator honing in on Byron and Cabot, his work subordinate, cuddled up at the concert. They quickly separated and tried to hide their faces, but it was too little, too late… and honestly just confirmed that they were guilty.
Coldplay’s lead singer, Chris Martin, narrated what was unfolding in real time and seemingly figured out what was happening in a matter of seconds:
“Oh, look at these two. Oh come on, you’re okay. What? Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy.”
That video quickly spread across the internet and captivated the masses. To be honest, I can’t think of the last time that the online world was united like it was against this tech CEO and his mistress.
Astronomers quickly shared a public statement that they were launching an investigation into the incident. But given it was clearly Byron and Cabot, not even 24 hours after Astronomer announced that they were investigating the incident, the CEO of the company made it known that he’d be stepping down. In the company’s second statement since the scandal broke out, Astronomer said that their “standard was not met” and that Byron had tendered his resignation:
“As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met. Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted. The Board will begin a search for our next Chief Executive as Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy continues to serve as interim CEO.
Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space, helping data teams power everything from modern analytics to production AI. While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for our customers have not. We’re continuing to do what we do best: helping our customers with their toughest data and AI problems.”
After Byron stepped down, it did not take long for Cabot to also leave the company, with TMZ confirming that the human resources chief was no longer with the company. Astronomer provided this statement:
“Kristin Cabot is no longer with Astronomer — she’s resigned.”
Despite this being a huge cultural moment, Kirstin Cabot remained silent on the scandal…until now. During a recent interview with the New York Post, Cabot is revisiting that night at the Coldplay concert, sharing what led to the viral moment. And her answer is not what you’d expect.
“I made a bad decision and had a couple of High Noons and danced and acted inappropriately with my boss.
Cabot admitted that Byron was her “big happy crush,” but having that lust for her boss and acting upon it cost her a lot.
“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.”
Cabot shared that she did not intend to act on her feelings that night.
“I wanted to put a cute outfit on and go out and dance and laugh and have a great night. And that’s how it was tracking. Some inside part of my brain might have been jumping up and down and waving its arms, saying, ‘Don’t do this’.
We were just dancing, I’d had a few High Noons. Andy was standing behind me, and we were dancing, and I grabbed him. I didn’t hear the announcement that the jumbotron was coming, so suddenly I’m just seeing us on screen.”
Although Cabot was already separated from her now ex-husband at the time, she admitted that her initial reaction was fear that this moment would embarrass him. She then had thoughts about how it would affect her career.
“My immediate reaction was, ‘Holy s–t, Andrew’s here.’ We were in the middle of an incredibly — and amazingly — amicable separation. I was worried I would embarrass him. He’s an amazing guy and does not deserve that.
Then a beat later, my mind turns to, ‘Oh God, Andy’s my effing boss,’ this is a bad look. Boston’s not a big town. And while it wasn’t an Astronomer event or anything, there could have been investors or other staff there.”
Yeah… a bad look to say the least.
While navigating the aftermath, Cabot and Byron briefly spoke about crisis management advice, but have not spoken since. As Cabot rebuilds her professional image, she hopes that a narrative about “sleeping her way” to the top diminishes as she says that it is far from the truth of how she became Astronomer’s Chief of HR.
Lesson learned here… Stay away from High Noons and keep your work crush as only a crush.
