The woman seen on the Coldplay “kiss cam” alongside a cheating tech executive and his alleged mistress—both of whom are her colleagues—has been identified by online sleuths as the company’s vice president of human resources. She had reportedly been promoted just days before attending the concert with the rumored couple.
Alyssa Stoddard, recently promoted to vice president of people at Astronomer, was seen in jumbotron footage from Wednesday night’s concert in Foxborough, Massachusetts, blushing and smiling awkwardly as her cheating CEO Andy Byron and HR boss Kristin Cabot scrambled to hide their faces—according to online sleuths. The video has since been viewed more than 50 million times.
Left Alone and Embarrassed
Stoddard was promoted to the powerful role at the tech and data company by Cabot. Stoddard has worked alongside Cabot at several companies over the years, including data analytics firm Neo4j and cybersecurity company Proofpoint, with a long-standing professional link between them.
Cabot first brought her on board five months ago as head of people operations and strategy, and just last week, Cabot praised her in a glowing LinkedIn post announcing her promotion.
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“I’m incredibly proud to share that Alyssa Soddard has been promoted to VP of People at Astronomer,” Cabot wrote, according to a screen grab taken before she deleted her LinkedIn account Thursday.
“I’ve had the true privilege of working with Alyssa at four different companies over the years — and every time she has brought an extraordinary mix of empathy, operational excellence and unwavering integrity”
“She’s also a thoughtful, values-driven partner who makes every team she touches stronger.”
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Stoddard revealed her hiring five months ago in a LinkedIn post, which has since been flooded with dirty comments accusing her of attending the concert alongside Byron and Cabot.
“I’ve joined Kristin Cabot (Thornby) and the amazing People team at Astronomer, leading People Operations and Strategy! I’m honored to be part of this journey and can’t wait to see what lies ahead!” she wrote in the post. “Here’s to new beginnings and exciting opportunities.”
“Not a good look to knowingly condone affairs,” one observer slammed in the comments section after the scandal broke.
“Way to go! You were hired to keep the secrets and failed five months into the job,” another snapped.
Never Imagined Embarrassment
When the camera panned toward the scandalous couple, Byron had his arms wrapped around Cabot’s chest, while their fingers were locked together. However, they were quick to realize that they were being shown on the big screen, leading Cabot to throw her hands over her face and swiftly turn away, while Byron crouched down to avoid being seen.
Initially, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin believed the camera had caught a touching scene. “Look at these two,” he said warmly. But their sudden response left him puzzled. “Oh, what?” Martin can be heard saying on stage, according to a TikTok video. “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”
“Holy sh-t. I hope we didn’t do something bad,” he said, according to additional footage taken right after.
Byron appears to be married to Megan Kerrigan Byron, while Cabot divorced her husband, Kenneth Thornby.
Court records from Massachusetts show that Cabot and Thornby filed for divorce in 2018, with the process finalized in 2022. It is unclear whether she has remarried since then.
The ex-couple share at least one child, and Thornby was ordered to make a one-time child support payment to Cabot.
