Kristin Cabot, the former Astronomer HR executive who became a viral meme when she was caught dancing with her boss on Coldplay’s kiss cam earlier this year, has broken her silence for the first time since the incident in a pair of interviews with The New York Times and The Times of London.
“I made a bad decision and had a couple of High Noons and danced and acted inappropriately with my boss,” she told the NY Times. “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 confirmed that she and her boss, former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, were separated from their respective spouses when they attended the Coldplay concert together, and said they had not been romantically involved beforehand (aside from her admitting she had a “crush” on him).
She said she reacted the way she did after being shown on the kiss cam — quickly covering her face — because her estranged husband was also at the show, and because she knew it was a “bad look” to be seen embracing her boss.
“My immediate reaction was, ‘Holy shit, [her ex-husband] Andrew’s here’, Cabot explained to The Times of London. “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,” she added. “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.”
In both interviews, Cabot described the emotional toll the viral incident—and the ensuing online backlash—caused her and her family. “I could have been struck by lightning, I could have won the lottery, or this could have happened,” Cabot lamented to The Times of London. “But I’m not some celebrity, I’m just a mom from New Hampshire. Even if I did have an affair, it’s not anybody’s business. It has been like a scarlet letter; people erased everything I’d accomplished in my life and achieved in my career. This can’t be the final word.”
