The woman at the centre of the Coldplay kiss cam scandal has officially filed for divorce from her husband, ending the marriage to a sixth-generation heir of the Privateer Rum fortune less than a month after her affair was exposed to millions worldwide.
Kristin Cabot, 52, the former Astronomer HR chief caught canoodling with then-CEO Andy Byron at a July concert in Boston, filed divorce papers against husband Andrew Cabot on 13 August in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, according to court documents obtained by the Daily Mail. The filing marks the dramatic conclusion to a scandal that began when Coldplay frontman Chris Martin accidentally broadcast the pair’s intimate moment to 70,000 concert-goers and millions more online.
Andrew Cabot, whose family lineage traces back ten generations in New England aristocracy, was reportedly on a business trip to Japan when his wife became an overnight internet sensation for all the wrong reasons. The divorce filing represents the end of his third marriage and comes as his ex-wife Julia delivers a scathing verdict on the Boston Brahmin heir’s comeuppance.
Ex-Wife Says Rum Heir ‘Had It Coming’
Julia Cabot, who was married to Andrew for four years until their 2018 divorce, has broken her silence with brutal commentary on her former husband’s latest marital collapse. “I texted Andrew right after it happened, and he said ‘her life is nothing to do with me’,” Julia told the Mail, revealing the rum heir’s initial dismissive response to the scandal.
The ex-wife’s assessment of Andrew’s character pulls no punches. “He’s a Boston Brahmin, that’s their code: ‘This isn’t anything to do with me.’ His ego is too big to be affected by this and the only thing that he’s bummed about is that he was embarrassed,” she explained.
Julia delivered her final verdict with undisguised satisfaction: “He’s not a nice person. Now something not nice happened to him. He’s a jerk who had it coming.”
Boston Blue Blood Dynasty Rocked by Scandal
The Cabot family represents one of Boston’s most storied dynasties, a blue-blooded elite so powerful that even the Kennedy clan was once considered too nouveau riche to join their exclusive ranks. The family’s fortune, built on “carbon black” – soot used in car tyres – expanded into vast holdings through the Cabot Corporation, encompassing chemicals, paint, gas, and most recently, premium rum.
Andrew Cabot, described as a descendant of a “Boston Brahmin” family due to his lineage’s generational wealth, serves as CEO and COO of Privateer Rum, the luxury spirits brand he founded. The company’s website notes he is “six generations removed from the original Andrew Cabot who inspired the launch of Privateer Rum.”
A 1972 New York Times profile estimated the Cabot family fortune at £160 million (adjusted for inflation), with their wealth deriving from industrial enterprises that helped shape American aristocracy. Their empire included merchant traders, privateers, and industrial titans whose influence stretched across New England society.
The Moment That Destroyed Two Careers
The scandal erupted on 16 July when Kristin and Byron attended Coldplay’s concert at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. During the band’s performance, Martin serenaded the crowd with an improvised “Jumbotron Song”, featuring couples on the venue’s massive screen.
When the camera landed on Byron and Cabot, wrapped in an intimate embrace, their panicked reaction sealed their fate. Kristin immediately turned away, covering her face, whilst Byron ducked behind a barrier. Martin, noticing their obvious discomfort, cheekily quipped to the roaring crowd: “They’re either having an affair… or they’re very shy.”
The clip exploded across social media, garnering over 127 million views on TikTok alone. Internet sleuths quickly identified the pair as Byron, the married CEO of billion-dollar tech firm Astronomer, and Cabot, the company’s chief people officer who had joined just nine months earlier.
Swift Corporate Downfall
The professional consequences were immediate and devastating. Astronomer’s board launched a formal investigation, placing Byron on leave before he tendered his resignation on 19 July, citing failure to meet company standards in “conduct and accountability.
Days later, Cabot also resigned from her position. Kristin Cabot is no longer with Astronomer, she has resigned,” a company spokesperson confirmed to news outlets on 24 July.
The scandal’s impact extended beyond the principal players. Byron’s wife, Megan Kerrigan Byron, immediately removed her married surname from social media before deleting her accounts entirely amid the public humiliation. Reports suggest she may also be pursuing divorce proceedings.
Property Empire Complicates Divorce
The dissolution of the Cabot marriage faces significant complications around their substantial property portfolio. Documents obtained by The US Sun reveal the couple purchased a £1.8 million ($2.2 million) coastal home in Rye, New Hampshire, in March, taking out a mammoth £1.3 million ($1.6 million) mortgage with Morgan Stanley.
The property, described as a “fixer-upper” despite its seven-figure price tag, has both names on the paperwork, potentially complicating the divorce proceedings. The couple had also sold a four-storey home in April 2024 for £850,000 ($1.05 million), suggesting extensive joint assets requiring division.
Kristin, whose maiden name is Stanek, had served as an advisory board member for Andrew’s Privateer Rum since 2020, according to her now-deleted LinkedIn profile, further entangling their personal and professional interests.
Previous Marriages and Complex Family Dynamics
Court records reveal additional complexity in Kristin’s marital history. She had previously filed for divorce from Kenneth C. Thornby in 2018, with the proceedings finalised in 2022. That marriage reportedly produced a child, adding custody considerations to her current situation.
Andrew’s romantic history proves equally complicated, with the Privateer Rum heir now facing the end of his third marriage. The Boston blue blood’s previous divorces have apparently done little to humble his approach to relationships, according to his second ex-wife Julia’s caustic assessment.
Viral Moment Becomes Cultural Phenomenon
The kiss cam incident has transcended mere scandal to become a cultural touchstone about modern infidelity in the digital age. Publicist Natalie Trice observed: “This isn’t some random ‘kiss-cam’ slip; it’s high-profile theatre on a global stage. When the big screen caught the billion-dollar AI company CEO alongside his HR chief, the damage was immediate and public.”
Senior psychotherapist Daren Banarsë explained the footage’s viral appeal: “Cheating scandals hit us where it hurts – they activate primal fears around betrayal, abandonment, and broken trust. Watching that raw, panicked reaction bypasses our usual filters. It feels real – and that authenticity is magnetic in a culture saturated with performance.”
The incident spawned countless memes, fake statements purporting to be from Byron and Coldplay, and even comparisons to Muppets characters Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy. Climate activists attempted to hijack the narrative, with fake social media accounts claiming the band would introduce “camera-free audience sections for people and their sidepieces” at future concerts.
Astronomer Moves Forward
Astronomer has moved swiftly to contain the reputational damage, with co-founder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy serving as interim CEO whilst the board conducts a search for Byron’s permanent replacement. The company, which achieved “unicorn” status in 2022 with a valuation exceeding £800 million ($1 billion), faces the challenge of rebuilding its leadership team and corporate image.
“Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding,” the company stated. “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability.”
Uncertain Future for Scandal’s Principals
As the divorce proceedings advance, questions remain about how the substantial Cabot-Stanek assets will be divided and what future awaits both parties. Andrew Cabot must navigate the end of his third marriage whilst maintaining his position at Privateer Rum, a brand built on his family’s centuries-old reputation.
For Kristin, the path forward appears equally uncertain. Having resigned from a senior position at a billion-dollar tech firm and facing divorce from Boston aristocracy, her professional and personal futures remain undefined nearly two months after that fateful night at the Coldplay concert.
The timeline for finalising the divorce remains unclear, though the complexity of assets and Andrew’s family connections suggest proceedings could prove protracted. Neither party has commented publicly on the filing, maintaining the Boston Brahmin code of silence that Julia Cabot so acidly described.
What began as a routine kiss cam moment at a summer concert has evolved into a cautionary tale about privacy, infidelity, and the devastating speed at which modern scandals can destroy careers and marriages. For the Cabot family dynasty, built over ten generations of New England privilege, the scandal represents an unprecedented public humiliation that no amount of old money can erase.
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