Grace Springer, a 28-year-old Coldplay fan, unintentionally exposed an apparent affair between tech tycoon and Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and his head of HR, Kristin Cabot. During the band’s Boston concert on Wednesday night, she filmed the viral “kiss cam” moment where the couple was caught embracing— a clip now viewed nearly 50 million times.
Springer had a blunt message for the canoodling pair: “Play stupid games … win stupid prizes.”
“I didn’t even know who they were at the time,” the avid Coldplay fan told the US Sun.
Springer said she “just thought I caught an interesting reaction to the kiss cam and decided to post it,” unaware it would soon go mega-viral.
“A part of me feels bad for turning their lives upside down, but play stupid games … win stupid prizes.”
The awkward video showed Byron and Cabot scrambling to hide their faces after the jumbotron suddenly focused on them during the concert.
“F—king hell, it’s me,” Byron seemed to say, while his HR chief mouthed, “This is awkward.”
As Cabot covered her face and Byron ducked out of view, frontman Chris Martin joked, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.” The “Fix You” singer later added, “I hope we didn’t do something bad…”
After Springer’s clip went viral, online sleuths quickly uncovered that Byron is married to Megan Kerrigan Byron, while Cabot recently divorced her husband, Kenneth Thornby.
“I hope their partners can heal and get a second chance at the happiness they deserve, with their future still ahead of them,” Springer said.
“I hope, for them, my video was a blessing in disguise.”
It remains unclear how—or if—the apparent scandal will impact them professionally.
Cabot, appointed to her role in November, had previously highlighted on LinkedIn that she leads “by example and win[s] trust with employees of all levels, from CEOs to managers to assistants,” and described herself as “energized” by her conversations with Byron.
Meanwhile, Byron praised Cabot as “a proven leader.”
“Kristin’s exceptional leadership and deep expertise in talent management, employee engagement, and scaling people strategies will be critical as we continue our rapid trajectory,” Byron wrote in a staff memo when she joined the company.
“She is a proven leader at multiple growth-stage companies, and her passion for fostering diverse, collaborative workplaces makes her a perfect fit for Astronomer.”
Neither Byron nor Cabot—both with families of their own—have publicly addressed the unfolding saga.
Legal experts say the scandal is especially complicated given Cabot’s role as head of HR—the very department responsible for managing workplace relationships.
“It’s horrible because she is the head of HR! She’s involved in an extramarital affair with the CEO. Basically, how much worse of an HR faux pas could you commit?” said employment lawyer William Cafaro, co-counsel at New York–based Buzin Law, speaking to The Post.
“The only way it could be worse is if the head of HR was having an affair with someone who worked directly under her. That’s the only scenario I can imagine that would top this — but this situation is already pretty high up there.”
