The Coldplay concertgoer who unintentionally exposed a tech executive’s alleged affair with his HR chief has been identified, and she has a blunt message for the canoodling couple: “Play stupid games… win stupid prizes.”
Grace Springer, 28, filmed the now-viral footage of Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and his chief HR officer, Kristin Cabot, caught in an embrace on the “kiss cam” during Coldplay’s concert in Boston on Wednesday night. The “kiss cam” moment even made Coldplay frontman Chris Martin stop for a moment and muse that they must be “having an affair.” The scandalous video has since been viewed more than 50 million times, and the count is surging.
A Different Kind of Whistleblower
“I had no idea who the couple was,” Springer, a Coldplay megafan, told the US Sun. Springer “just thought I caught an interesting reaction to the kiss cam and decided to post it” — with no idea how mega-viral it would soon go.
“A part of me feels bad for turning these people’s lives upside down, but, play stupid games… win stupid prizes.”
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The embarrassing video captured Byron and Cabot quickly trying to cover their faces after the jumbotron unexpectedly focused on them during the concert.
In the video, Byron seemed to mutter, “F–king hell, it’s me,” while Cabot appeared to mouth, “This is awkward.”
As Cabot covered her face with her hands and Byron quickly ducked out of sight, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin warmly, “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 another footage taken right after.
Breaking the Internet
As Springer’s video went viral across social media, internet sleuths were quick to uncover that Byron is apparently married to Megan Kerrigan Byron, while Cabot had recently finalized her divorce from her ex-husband, Kenneth Thornby.
“I hope their partners can heal from this and get a second chance at the happiness they deserve with their future still in front of them,” Springer said.
“I hope, for them, my video was a blessing in disguise.”
It remains unclear how, or if, the apparent controversy might affect their professional roles.
Cabot, who joined the company in November, had previously claimed on LinkedIn that she leads “by example and win trust with employees of all levels, from CEOs to managers to assistants,” and she was “energized” by the discussions with Byron.
At the same time, 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 memo to staff when she joined the company.
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“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.”
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.
