SHAH ALAM – A jumbotron kiss at a Coldplay concert was supposed to be a fleeting moment of fun. Instead, it ignited one of tech’s most bizarre public scandals.
A viral video, seen by tens of millions, captured Astronomer Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Andy Byron embracing his company’s Chief People Officer, Kristin Cabot.
This triggered allegations of an affair, a corporate investigation and his abrupt resignation. Beyond the drama, few understood what Astronomer actually does, or why it matters to some of the world’s biggest companies.
What is Astronomer? And why do tech giants use it?
Imagine ordering an Uber: your location data, driver info and payment details all live in separate systems. Yet, within seconds, the app connects them to get you a ride. That seamless orchestration is often powered by Apache Airflow, an open-source tool that schedules tasks across different data systems. But Airflow is fragile; it crashes during server updates and needs manual fixes.
Astronomer, founded in 2018, built a solution called Astro, a commercial version of Airflow with automatic updates and a faster, more stable infrastructure. It is reportedly two to three times faster than major competitors. Notably, 19 of the top Airflow code contributors work at Astronomer. This means the same people steering the open-source version also build the paid version, essentially letting Astronomer quietly shape the tool that powers global companies.
From CEO to viral meme: The Coldplay concert that changed everything
On July 16, at a Coldplay concert at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the stadium camera panned to Byron, 50, cuddling Cabot, 43, from behind. Both are married, but not to each other. When the jumbotron caught them mid-embrace, they immediately recoiled.
Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin saw the awkward reaction and quipped to the crowd: “Either they are having an affair or they are just very shy.”
That comment and the moment, went viral. One concertgoer’s video racked up over 45 million views on TikTok and spread across platforms like wildfire. Within 48 hours, Byron was placed on leave. By Saturday, July 20, he had resigned.
“Andy Byron has tendered his resignation and the Board of Directors has accepted. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability and recently, that standard was not met,” Astronomer said in a statement.
Byron’s rocky leadership history resurfaces
The kiss cam moment was not Byron’s first public controversy. A 2018 report by The Information revealed troubling behavior during his time as Chief Revenue Officer at cybersecurity startup Cybereason.
“Mr Byron would lash out against employees who disagreed with him, including threatening to fire them,” according to a former staff member.
“You could not challenge him,” another ex-employee claimed.
Though Byron denied these allegations, saying difficult decisions were necessary for growth, many staff reportedly quit during his tenure. Some allege he replaced them with loyalists from his previous company, Fuze.
Silent profiles, deleted accounts and a divorce looming
Following the Coldplay video’s virality, Byron’s wife, Megan Kerrigan Byron, reacted swiftly. She removed his last name from her Facebook before deactivating her account entirely. Byron also deleted his LinkedIn profile, as did Cabot.
Megan and Byron, who share two children, are now reportedly headed for divorce. Under Massachusetts’ 50/50 marital asset laws, family law expert Nancy Chemtob says she could walk away with up to US$35 million, depending on Byron’s estimated net worth (US$20M–US$70M).
“The worst thing in this case is the embarrassment factor for the kids. There is going to be a lot of expenses with regard to therapy, getting separate homes and more,” Chemtob said.
Cabot’s position and silence
Cabot joined Astronomer in November 2024, while Byron came on board in July 2023. In a press release at the time of her hiring, Byron praised Cabot’s exceptional leadership and deep expertise.
She was previously married to Kenneth Thornby, a rum entrepreneur, but they divorced in 2022. Her current marital status is unknown and she has not made any public comment on the matter.
The Internet runs wild
The viral moment did not stay within tech circles. Brands from Ikea to Tesla to Hulu hijacked the meme.
Ikea posted two stuffed animals hugging with the caption: “Do not get caught without these, HR-approved cuddles.”
Tesla joked: “Taking your loaner Tesla to a Coldplay concert is like cheating. Your car will know.”
Frido mattress photoshopped Byron onto their cuddle pillow: “Bro could have just used our Cuddle Pillow and avoided all that embarrassment.”
Even Coldplay joined in, with Martin joking during their next concert on July 19 in Madison, Wisconsin: “We would like to say hello to some of you in the crowd. How are we going to do that is we are going to use our cameras and put some of you on the big screen. So please, if you have not done your makeup, do your makeup now," he joked and the crowd understood what he meant.
What’s next for Astronomer?
After Byron’s resignation, Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy stepped in as interim CEO. DeJoy, who helped build Astronomer into a unicorn startup valued at over US$1 billion, subtly acknowledged the meme’s reach.
Despite the scandal, Astronomer remains a critical player in the data infrastructure space, powering backend systems for companies that need real-time data syncing, from artificial intelligence (AI) platforms to logistics. Back in May, the company raised US$93 million in funding led by Bain Ventures and Salesforce Ventures, highlighting strong investor belief in its future, no matter who’s in the CEO chair.
What started as an awkward moment on a jumbotron led to the swift fall of a tech CEO, a viral meme wave, a likely high-stakes divorce and an HR scandal that turned into comedy fodder.