The fallout from the viral kiss cam moment that rocked tech circles and social media has taken another turn, as former Astronomer executive Kristin Cabot has officially filed for divorce from her husband.
According to the Daily Mail, Cabot submitted divorce papers in a New Hampshire court on August 13, less than a month after she and her boss, then-Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, were caught on camera looking uncomfortably close during a Coldplay concert.
The July 16 incident unfolded when the pair, seated together with their arms around each other, were suddenly projected onto the venue’s big screen. In a flustered attempt to dodge the spotlight, Cabot and Byron covered their faces and ducked, but the awkwardness only drew more attention. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin added fuel to the fire when he quipped from the stage: “Woah, look at these two. They’re either having an affair or they’re just very shy.”
Clips of the moment quickly spread across social media, where online sleuths identified the duo. Within days, the scandal snowballed. On July 19, Byron resigned from his role as CEO, and Cabot soon followed, stepping down as Astronomer’s head of HR.
But the ripple effects extended beyond their careers. Julia Byron, the ex-wife of Kristin’s now-estranged husband Andrew Cabot, revealed that she began receiving messages about the situation as soon as the footage went viral.
“I texted Andrew right after it happened, and he said: ‘Her life has nothing to do with me,’ and said they were separating,” Julia told the Daily Mail.
Julia, however, suggested that Andrew was trying to distance himself publicly. “He’s saying it has nothing to do with him, even though they were married and shared a house. But then, the only thing he cares about is money … He’s not a nice person. Now something not nice [has] happened to him.”
Weighing in on public reaction, she noted: “It was like: what you give, you get. Personally I don’t think he’s affected by what happened at all. I don’t think his feelings are hurt. He’s probably embarrassed, if anything.”
She further revealed that this divorce marks Andrew Cabot’s third. “I wouldn’t say he’s husband material, but she doesn’t seem like wife material either,” Julia concluded.
For many online, the scandal has come to symbolize a very public case of “karma”, a messy entanglement of personal and professional lives laid bare under the glare of viral fame.
