Ex-Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and his former HR mistress Kristin Cabot were just friends when they were caught canoodling on a Coldplay concert kiss cam – with the chief people officer’s husband on a date nearby as the viral moment unfolded, a bizarre new report claims.

“Kristin and Andy had an excellent working relationship, a great friendship,” a source close to Cabot told People Tuesday. 

Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot embracing on a big screen at a Coldplay concert.
A new report claims Ex-Astronomer CEO Andy Bryon and his former HR mistress Kristin Cabot were just friend when they were caught canoodling on a Coldplay concert kiss cam.instaagraace/TikTok

New York Post cover with the headline "DUMBOTRON!" above three images of a man and woman on a jumbotron and a smaller image of Chris Martin.
“Kristin and Andy had an excellent working relationship, a great friendship,” a source close to Kristin Cabot said.csuarez

“There was no affair. It was inappropriate to be hugging your boss at a concert, and she accepts full responsibility for it. But the scandal, the downfall, the loss of the job – all of that is unfair.”

Cabot’s steamy office romance with the 51-year-old tech tycoon was put on blast on July 16 when the jumbotron at Gillette Stadium suddenly panned to them – prompting the cuddling pair to awkwardly duck out of view as they scrambled to hide their faces.

 

“Oh, what?” lead singer Chris Martin said after catching the embarrassing viral embrace at a Coldplay “Music of the Spheres World Tour” gig in Massachusetts.

“Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”

The AI-centric New York firm where Byron and Cabot worked immediately launched an investigation after the caught-on-camera faux pas erupted into a social media frenzy and placed the scandalous duo – who were married to other people – on leave.

Kristin Cabot and Andrew Cabot with two children.
Kristin Cabot (pictured) was married to Privateer Rum owner Andrew Cabot at the time she was caught canoodling with then-CEO of Astronomer Andy Byron.Maud Cabot/Facebook
Cabot’s boss resigned the next day, while she stepped down less than a week later.

“It is important to note how inappropriately mislabeled Kristin has been – as a homewrecker,” the source said, adding that Byron and Cabot attended the concert with a group of friends.

“It’s unfathomable to witness what happened, and how devastating it can be, for not just individuals, but entire families. These are real people and real families. The way people have taken a lot of enjoyment at their expense, it’s hard to see.”

Headshot of Kristin Cabot, Chief People Officer at Astronomer.
Both Cabot and Byron have resigned after the caught-on-camera faux pas erupted into a social media frenzy.kristinthornby/linkedin
Cabot, 52, filed for divorce from her husband Andrew on Aug. 13 – though the slighted spouse told the outlet earlier this month that the pair had already been separated before the concert fiasco.

Andrew, a sixth-generation heir to the Privateer Rum fortune, had been on a business trip to Japan during the kiss-cam debacle and was blissfully unaware that his wife was publicly cozying up to Byron until he came home.

But the source wildly claimed that Andrew was also having his own fling at the very same concert.

“Kristen and Andrew had been living apart,” People’s source said, noting that Cabot’s soon-to-be-ex-hubby was also “at the Coldplay concert on a date.”

“It was not a company event. There was no company box. It was a night with a big group of friends and an inappropriate moment.”

The snafu quickly exploded on social media, made headlines, inspired memes, and found itself the butt of many a joke, with famous figures and people across the globe recreating the mortifying moment at sporting events and online.

But while many found humor in the embarrassing moment, the twice-married Cabot received “about 900 death threats on her phone” in the first three days after the workplace scandal erupted, the source added.

“Kristin had people standing outside her car while she was picking her son up from work, grown women laughing, taking pictures, pointing,” People’s source said.

“It’s been a tough thing to watch.”

Neither Byron nor Cabot have spoken out yet about the sordid scandal.